Over the last few years I have been in several meetings during which the idea of creating a community garden was discussed, but that was as far as the idea progressed. University Baptist Church member, Canaan Crane, is doing something about it.
This spring he led the effort to clean and prepare a garden site on church property at the corner of Pulaski and Park streets. Other members of the church, including Greg Cullison, Brent and Hilary Linihan, and college students Julie Griffin and Aubrey Dolliver, assisted in getting the rows established and drainage worked out.
The garden has been planted with tomatoes, sweet peppers, squash, onions, hot peppers, cantaloupe, watermelon, arugula and herbs: cilantro, basil, parsley, mint, rosemary and Echinacea (Purple Coneflower). Folks in the neighborhood have taken an interest in the garden and visit regularly. As produce has been harvested, members have shared vegetables with residents who live nearby.
Joaquin, a resident who lives near the garden said, “I think that the garden is a good thing because it allows people in the neighborhood to eat good vegetables, which is good for their health. It’s good that we have it.”
In a few weeks it will be time to plant some vegetables for fall harvest. Canaan says the he plans to plant bush and pole beans and perhaps some fall potatoes. Other vegetables that could be considered are beets, cabbage, carrots, Kale, radishes and spinach. OSU Fact Sheet No. 6009 has excellent information concerning how to plant, how long until harvest, and how to store winter vegetables in the ground. The fact sheet can be found online at http://osufacts.okstate.edu or at the Pottawatomie County OSU Extension office at the corner of MacArthur Street and Acme Road.
Long term, Crane hopes to expand the presence of community gardens by getting more folks from the neighborhood and local churches actively involved in starting, planting and harvesting vegetables from their own community garden sites. He is excited about adding to the Pulaski and Park garden site as well as possibly developing another site just north of Independence in the 1600 block of North Park. He can be contacted at 405.226.0644 for more information.
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Over the last few years I have been in several meetings during which the idea of creating a community garden was discussed, but that was as far as the idea progressed. University Baptist Church member, Canaan Crane, is doing something about it.
This spring he led the effort to clean and prepare a garden site on church property at the corner of Pulaski and Park streets. Other members of the church, including Greg Cullison, Brent and Hilary Linihan, and college students Julie Griffin and Aubrey Dolliver, assisted in getting the rows established and drainage worked out.
The garden has been planted with tomatoes, sweet peppers, squash, onions, hot peppers, cantaloupe, watermelon, arugula and herbs: cilantro, basil, parsley, mint, rosemary and Echinacea (Purple Coneflower). Folks in the neighborhood have taken an interest in the garden and visit regularly. As produce has been harvested, members have shared vegetables with residents who live nearby.
Joaquin, a resident who lives near the garden said, “I think that the garden is a good thing because it allows people in the neighborhood to eat good vegetables, which is good for their health. It’s good that we have it.”
In a few weeks it will be time to plant some vegetables for fall harvest. Canaan says the he plans to plant bush and pole beans and perhaps some fall potatoes. Other vegetables that could be considered are beets, cabbage, carrots, Kale, radishes and spinach. OSU Fact Sheet No. 6009 has excellent information concerning how to plant, how long until harvest, and how to store winter vegetables in the ground. The fact sheet can be found online at http://osufacts.okstate.edu or at the Pottawatomie County OSU Extension office at the corner of MacArthur Street and Acme Road.
Long term, Crane hopes to expand the presence of community gardens by getting more folks from the neighborhood and local churches actively involved in starting, planting and harvesting vegetables from their own community garden sites. He is excited about adding to the Pulaski and Park garden site as well as possibly developing another site just north of Independence in the 1600 block of North Park. He can be contacted at 405.226.0644 for more information.
