Flowers

Pleasant Hill Ramblings: Gardeners aid community

01.08.11

CROSSVILLE — In 1983, a group of erstwhile gardeners started cultivating a cooperative “Lord’s Acre” plot on Yonside Drive in Pleasant Hill using water from Lake Laura. Retirees Bob McKinley and Ross Ensminger, now deceased, concerned about hunger in the world decided to put their beliefs into action. Many people in Pleasant Hill gardens had been bringing their surplus produce from their own gardens to the Pleasant Hill Community House starting in 1978 to share at a Community Market. Proceeds from the Market were given to the UCC Hunger Action Fund until more recently to the Neighbors Together local food bank. To this day, both the Community Garden and the Community Market are thriving. In 1987 as the Uplands Retirement Village began adding more houses on Yonside Drive, the Community Garden farmers moved their plots to an area behind Church Drive occupying property owned by Ruth and Bob Peeples who built on land, which had been part of the Pleasant Hill Academy farm. The old Academy dairy barn still stands and Ruth lets the gardeners keep their tools in it. Al Rogers and others worked with Ruth to construct a guttering system on the barn to collect rainwater into three rain barrels for use on the gardens. Ruth says, “It is a help to me – less grass to cut. Also good to have people in and out.” There were originally 24 plots, but have dwindled to 15 after Uplands began developing Grandview condos in 2001. Some of the plots are on Uplands’ land. Anyone can join the Community Garden, just contact co-chairs Roger Knight, 277-3207 or Jane Heald, 277-5770. Expenses such as tilling are shared and this year were $10 per plot. The organizing meeting is held usually in March, but there are some plots available for anyone interested in starting a late summer/fall garden. The plots, about 20’ by 30’, are ready for planting in late April or early May. Each person is responsible for caring for his/her own plot or plots. This year the rain barrels have filled up pretty consistently, but if not enough then the gardeners must carry in their own water. Some try to maintain an organic garden, others do mixed farming. Most have an additional garden in their home yards, but some live in very shady wooded areas. What do they grow? Anything that can be grown in Tennessee’s climate and soil. The produce includes crookneck, butternut, and acorn squash, zucchini, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, green beans, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, onions, okra, corn, pumpkins, Swiss chard, lettuce and every variety of weed. Some gardeners stick to tried and true varieties, but others like Jane Heald reported, “Experimented with a new variety squash, Butterfly, from Harris seeds. And I'm glad I did, because they are surviving this year's fungus (powdery mildew?) better than the Waltham Butternut.” She likes to start her own seedlings in the bathtub under a grow light. The gardeners share their surplus with friends, neighbors, and the Community Market just as others did thirty years ago. Sid Nichols only moved to Pleasant Hill permanently in 2009, but started planting flowers from Vermont in the Community Garden in 2005 in preparation for their move. He states, “I believe in no weeds in my gardens. I learned that in 10 years of 4-H when I was younger. I intend to grow vegetables and flowers, not weeds. The biggest pest problems are Japanese beetles and squash borers.” Mary Ruth reminisces, “As a child I was a member of the Happy Hoers 4H vegetable garden club in Hebron, CT. I learned to plan, plant, weed, harvest and show at 4H fairs. I lived in Connecticut  until 1990 and had some great gardens. Then we moved to North Carolina and the red clay dirt of the Piedmont area deterred me from gardening. Now that I live in Tennessee, the soil seems just right and I have the time to garden and am enjoying it. However, we traveled for a few weeks and almost lost control of the garden; at least the plants are bigger than the weeds and the plants are producing.” For those of us who garden that’s the most we can hope for.

Source: Crossville Chronicle