FOOD
LORRAINE BALLATO
Just Another Community Garden – Or Is It ?
PHOTOS COURTESY LORRAINE BALLATO
Community gardens are fairly common these days . You can find them all over the country , especially since the inception of the Garden Writers Association ’ s PAR ( Plant a Row for the Hungry ) initiative 22 years ago . But maybe you will find this community garden a bit different . Officially , it is the Fairfield County ( Connecticut ) Master Gardener Demonstration Garden , but it ’ s so much more .
The garden has a lot going for it . It is located directly on a main road and very visible to the hundreds of vehicles that pass by daily . Our deer fence gets a lot of attention and draws people in to ask about it . The garden is adjacent to the weekly farmers market , which attracts many visitors with children in hand . Kids are great fun to have in the garden , and we try to grow things for them such as stevia ( sweet leaf ). The children sample it and learn about something sweet they can grow at home . Homeless shelters also like stevia for their diabetic clients .
Each season we try different things . Last year we grew climbing Malabar spinach on a trellis for people who have limited space . We handed out samples ( We think of ourselves as a very mini-Costco !) to encourage the public to grow it . Our local markets feature purslane as a salad green , which was growing as a weed in our cold frame . We harvested it for sampling , so visitors could taste it before they made a purchase . The 2016 addition of a three-sisters garden drew a tremendous amount of interest . Everyone got a history lesson and our recipients got the produce .
GARDENING WITH PURPOSE For 2017 , we added a straw bale garden in addition to a pallet garden , an inspiration from an episode of Joe Lamp ’ l ’ s TV show , Growing a Greener World . Both ideas have resonated with our visitors .
Above : Fairfield ( Connecticut ) County Master Gardener volunteer clear the way for a 3-sisters planting of corn , squash and beans . Below right : Fairfield ( Connecticut ) County Master Gardener volunteers plant potatoes in the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden .
Everything that is grown in the garden has a purpose . We intersperse alyssum as a border plant to attract syrphid flies , also known as hoverflies , which are voracious aphid eaters . All our flowers are carefully chosen for their pollinating power or the beneficial insects they attract . Peonies , which border the garden , entice Typhia wasps that feed on Japanese beetle larvae . All of these elements make for rich discussions with the public .
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