from the earth

Community Gardens Offer Solace, Safety and Bounty

By Annie Sherman | March 08, 2021

Geoff Kaufman at his four- by eight-foot raised bed in the Westerly Community Garden, sponsored by the Westerly Land Trust.; Photo courtesy of Penny Parsekian and Geoff Kaufman.

New Gardeners Sow Seeds of Interest and Engagement in Growing Your Own

Walking to their community garden plot down the road from their home in Westerly, Penny Parsekian and Geoff Kaufman were on a mission. They had mapped the plant layout, replanted from seed and watered on a specific rotation to foster maximum absorption and growth. With their harvest bag in hand, they intended to reap the fresh rewards of their labor.

Their four- by eight-foot raised bed in the Westerly Community Garden, sponsored by the Westerly Land Trust, is one of 20 that are tended by fellow growers here, all of whom rely on this public space to grow their own produce. With a waiting list since its inception in 2019, this garden has become the hottest spot in town.

Indeed, community gardens across the state and the country have seen a surge in popularity, especially when Covid forced everyone indoors and away from others. Gardeners emerged from the shutdown with renewed commitment to the earth, to safely socializing and to knowing the origins of their food. Amid a striking surge in food insecurity and supply chain malfunctions last year, community gardens helped to provide the salvation we all needed.

“It was as though we stepped back into life 100 years ago, and the sort of things we haven’t had time for suddenly became available because we had time, but also they were meaningful because the world outside was crazy,” says Bevan Linsley, executive director of Aquidneck Community Table (ACT), which operates more than 80 community garden plots across Aquidneck Island. “And what better thing to do when the world is crazy than put your hands in the earth?”

Planting gardens on public or private property where they’re tended by groups of people dates to the 18th century in America, where they have galvanized neighborhoods around local food production and feeding the disadvantaged. Detroit developed an urban gardening program on vacant lots during the city’s economic recession back in the 1890s, while victory gardens during World Wars I and II supplemented strict food rations and boosted morale nationwide.

This kind of access to healthy food options and nutrition is an important part of overall health and well-being, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Outdoor learning and community gardens help fill nutritional gaps in places where access to healthy food may be limited, provide recreation and stress reduction opportunities and provide a safe outdoor learning environment, especially during the pandemic.”

The same dedication applies to our modern pandemic gardens, a source of community support now more than ever. When three of ACT’s landlords on five properties closed those gardens to the public due to Covid concerns, ACT quickly reconfigured garden staff teams to plant and harvest the food for donations to the public. All of that food was donated to Newport Public Schools’ summer meals program and Donovan Manor Senior Residence.

“We put our team to work because we didn’t want the gardens to lie there while so many people were hungry,” Linsley says. “ACT staff wore masks, were social distancing, disinfecting tools and being appropriate. We also managed to build 10 more garden beds at Island Community Farm in Middletown.”

There was such steady public demand for these little plots of land, even before Covid’s surge, that shared gardens like these should see continued popularity this year, too. Experts estimate that the industry gained 16 to 20 million new gardeners nationwide during the pandemic, 85% of whom are likely to continue.

“It was being outside that was so important,” says Parsekian. “We had that claustrophobic feeling being inside [during quarantine]. And that garden gave us a reason to go outside. It’s so critical not to just stay inside out of fear. Breathing fresh air and getting sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

Adds Kaufman, “It was really important during Covid to get out and do that. Everyone we saw there felt the same way. It was an escape from this harsh reality that was laid upon us last year.”

This applies to gardeners of all ages. While more adults realize that returning to nature by digging, growing and harvesting is therapeutic, children also are reaping the benefits.

When the outdoor gardening classroom at Newport’s Pell Elementary School was can celed last spring during quarantine, ACT created grow-your-own kits including soil, seeds and a container, as well as bilingual video instructions to maintain kids’ commitment to learning about their natural environment and growing their own healthy food.

“They got to do something hands-on instead of doing everything in front of a computer. It was life-changing for those kids,” explains Aaron Sherman, an ACT board member and first-grade teacher at Pell. “We were able to supplement all the kids who are getting free or reduced-price lunches, and give them a homegrown vegetable all summer into fall. It is amazing to give kids proper nutrition, because there are a lot of kids who need it.”

With these kits and outdoor garden classrooms, “they’re able to go home and apply what they’ve learned, teach their parents, be outside and active and eat healthier. It’s a spiral that goes on forever,” Sherman adds. “The opportunity is there for them to learn not to rely on the grocery store or convenience store or McDonald’s. There are other choices.”

Parsekian and Kaufman hope that the boon in backyard gardening continues. They were content harvesting more than 20 pounds of eggplant, bell peppers and garlic last summer and are in the process of planning this summer’s garden. Meanwhile, Westerly Land Trust’s Executive Director Jennifer Fusco says that if last year’s bounty is any indication, 2021 will explode with fresh produce.

“I predict the community garden season will be booming. As we return to normalcy, whatever that looks like, people will look back and say they needed to do this, to grow their own produce and go to the farmers market,” Fusco says, “and I think they will continue to do so for the benefits they provide.”

USE THESE GROWING TIPS FOR A PRODUCTIVE GARDEN

• Use good soil, compost and organic fertilizer. “It’s all about soil health when you grow anything,” says Westerly Land Trust’s Executive Director Jennifer Fusco. Start composting your food scraps at home, or subscribe to a residential pickup program like Healthy Soils Healthy Seas, Rhodeside Revival, Harvest Cycle or Bootstrap Compost.

• Grow what you like to eat. First, research those plants and their preferred growing conditions. Develop a relationship with a garden center, and ask questions!

• Know your sun effect and the plants’ potential growth height, and plant accordingly. If plants grow tall, like green beans, don’t plant them next to a sun-worshipper like eggplant, Fusco says. “Eggplant, zucchini and peppers grow well together—one gives off nutrients that the others absorb, so people cluster their crops based on how they complement each other.”

• Water appropriately, with a slow steady stream, not all at once with a bucket, otherwise you’ll wash all the soil nutrients away.

• Harvest when the time is right.

• Don’t forget that this is trial and error, so prepared for setbacks. Not every single plant that you propagate will survive, and that’s OK. But if you experiment and have fun, you could make some surprisingly good food with your harvest