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Workshop invites residents into the garden

Photo

Photo by Gazette file photo

Jennye Byrns, center, and her two children Gypsy (l) and Maverick, work on their plot at the Look West Neighborhood Gardens in Washington Park.

Can you feel a hint of spring in the air?

Probably not, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to think about gardening.

On Saturday, Feb. 27, Rotary Botanical Gardens and the UW Extension are hosting a Community Garden Workshop.

Everyone’s invited

“So far this year, we’ve had a school district, a municipality and a large corporate entity call regarding starting a community garden,” said Mike Maddox, UW Extension and Rotary Botanical Gardens horticulture educator.

The workshop will feature talks on urban agriculture, soil issues, a vegetable garden primer and a community garden round table featuring local garden leaders.

In the past decade, the number of community gardens in Rock County has gone from zero to five, including:

-- The garden plots near the Rock County Jail. The inmates work one area; the Rock Prairie Master Gardeners work another, and a third area has rental plots for community members.

-- The Merrill Community Garden in Beloit.

-- A garden near Wilson School that’s planted by the summer school kids and involves neighborhood residents.

-- A community garden in the Look West neighborhood.

-- Rental plots near behind the Rock County Humane Society.

Nationwide, nearly 1 million people were involved in community gardens last year, according to the national gardening association.

The gardening boom was helped along by a number of trends. Nationally, more people have been heading outdoors, spurned by everything from HGTV to the Martha Stewart empire.

More recently, the economy has pushed people to consider cutting their food costs by returning to the garden.

Finally, more and more people are concerned about where their food comes from and how it is processed.

Everybody’s getting involved.

Jim Hurley, who is best known for his work at the Rock County Humane Society, said he was motivated to start a community garden for two simple reasons: the economy and the community.

“With the economy the way it was last year, and even more so this year, I felt that this could help,” Hurley said.

The humane society’s board approved Hurley’s venture.

“The shelter is really a community-minded place,” Hurley said. “This is another way for us to provide community outreach and help.”

For more information about the workshop or the local community gardens, contact Maddox at Extension at mike.maddox@ces.uwex.edu or call him at Rotary Gardens: (608) 752-3885, Ext. 17.