What do I enjoy about the “Shared Harvest Community Garden"? Multiple things! First of all I’d have to say being in the country on 36 acres containing a half mile of the Florida River at 7,000 feet above sea level is a slice of heaven. This is only due to the generosity of owner Bob Kauer and his wife, Jama of 4 years. Bob has gradually increased his husbandry from dogs, cats and horses to include Scottish Highland Beef cattle and goats. He started this garden in 2001 before Jama came into the picture, because of his desire to share what he had “with like minded people”.
I discovered the garden in 2002 and have been an organic gardener there for 11 years now. This has been a community experience that I so enjoy in several ways (in no particular order):
First to be in a beautiful country setting with animals and the musical sounds of country living;
Second, to garden with other gardeners and meet new friends who aren't on my team but are like minded
with a desire to grow their own food;
Third, to enjoy our bounty with other people. Ever been to a community garden potluck? The food is ammaaaaazing!! Getting a continuing supply of awesome new recipes is always a treat for me;
Fourth, the last four years we have had bumper crops and been able to freeze food, which has lasted me until April of the following year!
It’s important to me to know where my food comes from: from my garden to my freezer to my table to my tummy! Mmmmmmmm. And having the satisfaction of knowing I had a part in every aspect. My father would be proud! He loved to garden as well and loved animals (I guess that makes me a chip off the ‘ole block). I learned canning from my mother, a Kerr canning book, and trial and error.
Last and certainly not least, the garden is therapy for me. Regardless how I feel when I head out to the garden (even If I don’t particularly want to go at times, I ‘m always glad I did because I feel so much better when I leave. Nothing else exists except that plot of land. There’s just something about getting my hands in the dirt that’s so satisfying. I may have missed my calling as a farmer!!
My fellow gardener Cori says she likes the fact that her daughter can identify broccoli, beets, pole beans, bush beans, chard and rhubarb plants and the way gardening encourages healthy eating habits with children (when they watch it grow for 3 months and harvest it themselves, it somehow tastes better).
"I appreciate the dramatic decrease in fossil fuels needed to bring food to the table," says Cori. "Knowing what is in my food (what went into the soil, whether it was sprayed with something, if it is genetically modified) is important to me, as is learning how to work together with your neighbors, even when you don't always agree."
Cori also says that her family's grocery bill plummets during harvest time and she enjoys being at least partially independent from national social, economic or natural disaster crisis that impact our food supplies.
Amanda, another member of our community garden (and the person who took the pictures in this blog) had the following comments:
"This is my second year in the garden, and harvest time is my favorite. I love walking through rows upon rows of beautiful, organic crops that I helped to grow and harvesting enough fresh produce to make trips to the grocery store and farmer's market extraneous during the summer months. I also love the sense of community that the garden builds. The monthly work parties and potlucks are always a fun and inspiring experience. I love working in the garden with such a large group of people, young and old, singles and families, who have all come together because they are passionate about good food. And the dinners, let me tell ya, definitely the best potlucks I've ever been to."There’s something about sitting in that garden alone with the birds chirping in the crystal blue sky above, the bees buzzing around the blossoms, an occasional cat crawling up in your lap, the goats bleating and prancing in their large pastures, the horses galloping in the field, listening to the gentle breeze blowing through the foliage all around me, it moves me and touches my very soul...
Patty Dickinson began an internship at 4CORE on Oct. 2nd this year sponsored by SCSEP (Senior Community Service Employment Program), a program to assist seniors re-entering the workforce. She came to Colorado in 1978 after graduating from a nursing program, fell in love with the state, went home to northern Illinois, packed her things, moved, and has been here for 34 years. She has worked as an administrative assistant for the State of Colorado and La Plata County after starting her career in nursing. When not training at 4CORE, Patty enjoys hiking, biking, wildlife observation, cooking, organic gardening and studying nutrition. She will begin working on her Nutritional Consultant certification in the near future.
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