How do we expand the variety, availability, & affordability of local foods produced by sustainable methods? Create a community garden program which empowers individuals to produce and consume good clean food, and to have fun while learning from educational events!
Welcome to an innovative community garden project!
In partnership with Harvest Farm & Preserve, New Pioneer has created a prototype community garden called Earth Source Gardens.
The Co-op provided fencing materials, and several truckloads of mulch and compost. Co-op Education and Member Services Coordinator Theresa Carbrey and Co-op member Roxane Mitten conceptualized the educational Co-op garden plots; Theresa oversees the administration of the project as part of her work with the Co-op community.
Julie Decker and Doug and Linda Paul of local non-profit Harvest Farm & Preserve
agreed to lease two acres of land for the garden for two dollars. The site, near the corner of N. Scott Boulevard and Rochester Avenue, was formerly a cow pasture. Harvest Farm agreed to plow and disk the land, to mow, to put up fencing, and they have also kindly provided water.
We Dig the Garden, 2012!
Last year we had a lot of fun growing food and hosting parties at New Pi’s Earth Source Gardens. At public garden parties we sampled paw-paws, listened to live music, and had an engaging kale recipe contest. We built fresh willow trellises, experimented with permaculture garden design, and savored many exotic and heirloom veggies including bitter melon, peanuts, and yellow beets.
What does 2012 hold in store for Earth Source Gardens? Thanks to Doug and Linda Paul of Harvest Farm & Preserve, we will again have a chance to create educational demo plantings and share our enthusiasm for local foods with the community. Many will have a plot of their own at Earth Source. It doesn’t get more local than your own garden!
Earth Source Gardens produce annual vegetables, which dominate produce departments and garden harvest baskets. We will always love and grow those amazing red, pink, yellow, and even green annual heirloom tomatoes. If we want to continue our exploration of local foods we can grow in Iowa, though, it is time to consider perennial crops, such as asparagus and rhubarb, as well as large and small fruit crops. Other local food production systems that bear investigation in the future include chickens and eggs, milk and cheese, and meat.
I am very happy to report every single fruit tree I planted in the raw cold spring of 2011 survived! Even that tiny fragile stick with three roots, labeled “North Star Cherry” now thrives at the most easterly end of the “Alley Orchard.” This little Co-op park on Ralston Creek, behind and east of the Iowa City store, boasts four fruit trees, several plantings of asparagus and rhubarb, and lots of strawberries. Please feel free to relax and enjoy your deli food at the Alley Orchard picnic tables. Kudos to Iowa City Store Manager Jason Thrasher who has actively helped to establish demonstration plantings at the Alley Orchard and at the Iowa City store offices at 523 Iowa Ave.
We’ll be looking for fun and adventure again this year! Would you like to join the education group to demonstrate how to grow your favorite unusual crop? Do you have an inspired garden design you would like to share? Interested in learning more about the unusual ‘Edible Forest’ orchard design continuing to take shape, created by local nonprofit Backyard Abundance? Come help me grow it up! Drop me an email at tcarbrey@newpi.coop!
Dreams take root in our “two acres of heaven.” Look for culinary walks and garden cycling outings to see, savor, and learn from local garden tours. Schools, parks, and private plantings are emerging across the county. We dig it all, and invite you to join us.
Interested in an Earth Source Gardens plot?
Please review the 2012 Garden Agreement before applying. To apply, please submit your name, email, phone number, member number, if you’ve had an ESG plot before, and whether you'd like a large (10x50') or small (10x20') plot to Allison at agnade@newpi.coop or (319) 248-6407. One applicant per household, please.
We look forward to another great season! Thank you to Harvest Farm and Preserve for their enthusiasm and support.
Pictured above: Roxane Mitten with giant kohl rabi, and Doug Paul of Harvest Farm and Preserve.
Below, Theresa Carbrey, Earth Source Gardens Coordinator, harvesting peas.
For more photos of Earth Source Gardens, check out our Flickr site.
Thank you to our sponsors:
Iowa City Landscaping & Garden Center, Lenoch & Cilek Ace Hardware, Midwest One Bank, Earl May Seed & Nursery
Hills Bank & Trust Company, Paul's Discount of Iowa City, US Bank