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             The Gardener Guy of Tulsa, Oklahoma

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Plant a Row

I'm a junkie. A political junkie, that is. I love the presidential debates, the angry letters to the editor, the pontificating of political pundits, the spurious promises by candidates. I knocked on doors and passed out leaflets for my candidate, Barack Obama, before the New Hampshire primaries. But I recognize that I can only make small changes through the political process. We CAN (italics) make significant changes in own communities, though of a different sort. One such way is through gardening, and through sharing food.

In the Hanover, NH area there is an organization called Willing Hands that collects food that would otherwise go to waste and distributes it to people who need it. This includes slightly blemished but perfectly good vegetables, fruits and day-old baked goods from the Hanover and Lebanon Food Coops, and from bakeries and farms, a total of 24 different donors. Willing Hands also has a volunteer-run garden in EastThetford, Vermont. There is also a national program called Plant-a-Row-for-the-Hungry, a program that involves gardeners who are willing to grow extra vegetables for the poor. This year gardeners in the Hanover area will be able to donate to Willing Hands as part of the Plant-a-Row program.

The Willing Hands garden is situated on a piece of land provided by a local farm, Cedar Circle Farm. Cedar Circle tilled the land, laid down strips of black plastic to minimize weed problems, and installed a drip line under the plastic in the event of a dry summer. Volunteers helped with planting, weeding and harvesting. The good folks at Cedar Circle Farm even provided the seedlings for planting, and planted 5 long rows of bush beans with a mechanical planter for them.

Mark Lansburgh, a professional cutflower grower in Post Mills, VT is the Treasurer of Willing Hands. He explained that Willing Hands is a registered 501-C-3 non-profit that has been distributing free food for 4 years, though last year was the first year it also had a garden. The garden was a big success.

Only organic techniques were used at the Willing Hands Garden. No chemicals were sprayed for bugs or weeds, which was nice for the volunteers who worked there, especially since some of them brought their children to help with picking veggies. This is important because children are much more susceptible to the effects of chemicals used in gardens. The garden really is a small farm: three 300-foot rows of tomatoes, one and a half rows of cukes, half a row of broccoli and related brassicas, half a row of melons and 5 rows of bush beans. Wow. Just thinking about picking 5 long rows of bush beans gets my back aching!

I love the idea of getting children and teenagers involved with a community effort like the Willing Hands Garden. They are learning not only gardening techniques, they are learning about serving others, stewardship of the land, and a lot about what goes into a meal made using fresh vegetables.

Selecting good varieties of veggies helps a lot when it comes to success. Many modern hybrids have been bred for disease resistance, and although I like the flavor of some heirloom tomatoes better, a home-grown tomato eaten with a day or two of picking is always good. They grew the following tomato varieties: Jet Star and New Girl (slicers), along with San Marzano and Roma (plum tomatoes).

In addition to the Coops, local farms donated a total of over 31,000 pounds of fresh produce. But there is always a need for more produce. Fresh fruits and vegetables are relatively expensive, even in summer. For seniors squeaking by on fixed incomes or families with children that are living on limited budgets, Twinkies pack more calories per dollar than tomatoes or peppers.

The Willing Hands project started as one man's project. Peter Phippen worked at a food coop and hated to see good food going to waste. He started by collecting and distributing the food on his own, doing all the work and driving his own van. Eventually the project's value was recognized and others began to help. If your community does not have such a project, you may learn more by contacting Mark Lansburgh at mark.lansburgh@valley.net or calling him at 802-333-4268.

Volunteering to work in a community garden like the one in EastThetford is not just about gardening. "It's about creating awareness of the need in the community and enabling community members to do something about it", said Heather Bagley, a volunteer with Willing Hands.

As we get ready for summer - drawing maps of our planned vegetable gardens, ordering seeds, starting seedlings perhaps - we can all think about planting a little extra to share with folks less fortunate. No matter where you live, you can grow some extra to share at the local senior citizen's center, a soup kitchen or just to put in a brown bag and share with an elderly neighbor who no longer gardens. Your contribution -whether in time or home grown produce- will make a difference not only for those in need. It will make you feel good, too.

Henry Homeyer is the author of 3 gardening books. His web site is www.gardening-guy.com.