Community vegetable garden needs volunteers

Community members, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get gardening! After a yearlong hiatus, volunteers are bringing back the community vegetable garden, and help is needed to ensure that residents have access to fresh produce this season.

The garden is located on 2nd Ave SE, just two blocks east of U.S. Hwy. 281. It is northwest of the NDSU Extension Eddy County Office, on the north side of the street.

Planting is underway, thanks to the efforts of Carter Richter, who disced the ground, and Kevin Johnson, who tilled the soil. A fresh layer of compost has also been added. Christina Anderson, one of the organizers, said that she and other volunteers would plant in the evenings until all rows were in.

A plethora of produce will be available in the garden this summer, including peas, beans, carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce and tomatoes. Although they haven’t had much luck with corn in past years, plans are to plant the popular commodity yet again in hopes that their work will yield some sweet ears in late summer.

Anderson said she will lay down straw mulch to control weeds in between the rows. Volunteer firefighters will continue watering the garden when needed, and the city maintenance crew will mow the grass that surrounds it.

The two greatest needs are weeding and harvesting. Volunteers are needed on a weekly basis to weed the rows, especially as the nascent plants develop. Anderson said she encourages families, groups or organizations to adopt a row. In this simple process volunteers choose to make sure that just one row of the garden is tended throughout the season.

Volunteers can also choose to go out to the garden at any time that is convenient, even if they only have a few minutes to spare. The garden is not secured, and access is not limited. Anderson asks, however, that garden visitors use common courtesy and leave some of the harvest for others and make sure to harvest a few weeds when picking produce. She plans to bring back the “harvested” and “not harvested” stakes to help guide visitors to the areas that need harvesting.

At times when there is an abundance of a particular vegetable, volunteers also deliver produce to the local senior center to be enjoyed by those who are not able to get out to the garden.

The only pesticide used at the garden is potato powder containing carbaryl, such as Sevin dust, which controls the beetles that prey upon the plants. Donations of vegetable seed and Sevin dust are welcome and encouraged. Cash donations are also accepted at the NDSU Extension Eddy County Office, which is located southeast of the garden.

This summer, read the New Rockford Transcript for regular updates on what’s ready to harvest and what needs to be done to ensure a successful yield. For more information, contact Christina Anderson at (701) 302-0302.