The latest public plot of land to be planted with fruits and vegetables could be taking root this year in the Gainsboro neighborhood, on Patton Avenue near the Lick Run neighborhood in Northwest Roanoke City.
A leased parcel is the target for the Roanoke Community Garden Association, which intends to eventually secure land in all quadrants of the city where local residents can apply to work a portion of that acreage. The RCGA recently purchased its first piece of property outright, a community garden already established in Hurt Park.
The most recent community garden in Roanoke is getting off the ground just down from the West End Center on Mountain View. In Gainsboro, Arthur Hill and Evelyn Bethel are leading the charge. Hill recently completed studies in horticulture at Virginia Western and is anxious to gauge community interest in Gainsboro. “I bring some gardening skills to the table, as well as some education,” said Hill.
Over the next few weekends he and others will meet at the Gainsboro library branch to see how many area residents would like to apply for their own patch of land within a leased parcel owned by the landlord (Carl Haley) of the building where he lives, close to 55 Patton Avenue.
Hill said there is an alternative site in mind should soil testing show the tract they have targeted is not suitable for fruits and vegetables. “We’re in the process of organizing the neighborhood to get behind the idea of having a garden,” said Hill. The cold winter weather had made it somewhat more difficult in getting people to come out, but Hill is hoping that the meetings scheduled at the library over the next few weekends will entice folks as the weather warms up. Once Hill knows how many people will work those plots they can plan work schedules at the proposed garden. “I’m already composting,” he stated.
Hometown Bank has pledged $500 towards the community garden and Hill said they have another $1500 to draw on for site work that will be needed once the garden moves forward. “We have two thousand dollars, a location and a couple of ideas,” is how he puts it. A community garden will also “help bring the neighborhood together,” Hill added, “working towards a healthy cause.”
He advocates for produce grown chemical-free and without heavy use of pesticides. Hill also points to a website, growingpower.org, where examples of communities in the Chicago area that have come together through communal gardening are highlighted.
Hill said RCGA president Mark Powell is already hard at work organizing sponsorships and attending to other background chores, making sure the “support system” for a Gainsboro community garden is in place. The public plots are open to all in the communities where they land but are targeted towards residents that do not have their own yards for gardening. The produce yielded is intended for personal consumption, not for resale.
There’s plenty of work to be done first, with truckloads of soil needed; volunteers who can spend time weeding the plots will be required as well. Two narrow lots side-by-side that once featured houses are the first choice for the garden. A test for soil toxicity will cost $500 according to Hill, but that money won’t be spent until the RCGA sees that there is enough interest from local residents to move forward.
It doesn’t always work out as planned: the Community Garden Association wanted to place another public plot near the Rescue Mission several years ago but the parcel turned out to be to rocky and not suitable for growing produce. “The community support is [crucial],” said Hill, who is doing his best to drum up that interest in Gainsboro.
By Gene Marrano