More people becoming interested in gardening
The Flenniken Public Library in Carmichaels has had a community garden since 2014. (Photo courtesy of Nicole Mitchell)
Many different produce items will be planted in the Flenniken Public Library无毛视频檚 community garden this year. (Photo courtesy of Nicole Mitchell)
Courtesy of Nicole Mitchell
Courtesy of Nicole Mitchell
The Flenniken Library Community Garden features eight raised beds.
Volunteers plant vegetables at Uniontown无毛视频檚 Hunger Garden in May. (Submitted photo)
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Rebecca Ambrosini made a recent trip to the grocery store and bought bananas, plums, cherries and oranges.
The price 无毛视频� $26.
无毛视频淚 just could not believe it,无毛视频� said Ambrosini, a Connellsville resident who runs Fayette County无毛视频檚 Seed to Supper Program. 无毛视频淎nybody on a fixed income is not going to be able to eat fruits and vegetables.
Prices such as that, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, have been key factors in leading more people toward gardening.
无毛视频淚t really started last year,无毛视频� Ambrosini said. 无毛视频淎fter the pandemic, people were shut in for a long time. People wanted to start to learn how to put gardens in. There无毛视频檚 been an uptick for sure.无毛视频�
Cheryl Brendel, Penn State Extension master gardener coordinator for Greene County, said a lot of master gardeners across the state are seeing more people taking an interest in gardening.
无毛视频淭he pandemic hit, and people needed something to do,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淎 lot of people are really just starting, trying to ask more questions about gardening. We have 67 county master garden programs and pretty much everyone has said they无毛视频檝e seen an increase.无毛视频�
There are many advantages to being involved in gardening, not the least of which is the money that can be saved as grocery prices continue to skyrocket.
无毛视频淚t cuts my grocery budget down,无毛视频� Brendel said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 work, but it无毛视频檚 relaxing. It无毛视频檚 profitable. If you plant it right, you don无毛视频檛 have to put a lot of money into a garden.无毛视频�
Laura Delach, Penn State Extension master gardener coordinator for Washington County, said the average price for a tomato plant is about $4 and, if done right, will bear 无毛视频減ounds of tomatoes.无毛视频�
Delach likes to plant vegetables that may not be commonly found at farmer无毛视频檚 markets, such as celeriac, yellow beans, spinach, Swiss chard, kale and radishes.
无毛视频淵ou无毛视频檙e growing your own food,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淵ou also get exercise. Mentally, it helps when your outside more. Your mental health is better.无毛视频�
There are programs available to help people get started in gardening.
Delach said the Peters Township Library recently hosted a program that offered instruction in preparing and planting the garden, which was attended by 25 to 30 people. Subsequent programs are planned in the coming months.
There无毛视频檚 also Seed to Supper, a series of beginning gardening classes. The program无毛视频檚 curriculum originated in Oregon. With permission, Penn State Master Gardeners adapted the program to fit the needs of Pennsylvania gardeners.
In Greene County, it started at the Corner Cupboard Food Bank in Waynesburg. Six two-hour classes about gardening were provided.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e teaching them how to supplement their restricted funds for groceries,无毛视频� Brendel said. 无毛视频淭hey get a manual for gardening and they get hands-on teaching. We teach them specific things about gardening.无毛视频�
The Fayette County program involves a partnership with Fayette County Community Action.
无毛视频淭hat class teaches everything from starting seeds to harvest and in between and about bugs and pests and disease and what to do about it and how to garden on a budget,无毛视频� Ambrosini said. 无毛视频淔ayette County is a food desert to begin with, so we partnered with Community Action to not only teach the class, but to also put community gardens across Fayette County.无毛视频�
One such garden is Uniontown无毛视频檚 Hunger Garden, which state Rep. Matt Dowling said was started about four years ago.
无毛视频淥ur intention was to bring attention to food insecurities,无毛视频� Dowling, R-Uniontown, explained. 无毛视频淔ood insecurities focus on not having the right foods that are affordable rather than not having food at all. We tried to address that by putting the garden in. It无毛视频檚 a dual purpose both to provide food and to bring attention to the issue of food insecurities.无毛视频�
Dowling said Republic Food Enterprises brought plants to be planted in the garden this year.
无毛视频淲e have everything from lettuce to strawberries,无毛视频� Dowling said. 无毛视频淲e also have some herbs in the garden.无毛视频�
All that the garden yields is donated to the Fayette Community Action food bank.
无毛视频淲e have some people that will stop and take something from the garden with them or we do a harvest every couple of weeks and take that to Community Action,无毛视频� Dowling said.
Firefly Gardens, located behind the Freedom Transit Center on East Chestnut Street in Washington, has half of its space set up for food production and workshops on how to grow plants, while the other half has a native plant demonstration garden.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e really just getting into our first full year of growing,无毛视频� explained Pam Kilgore, Firefly Gardens director, adding that planting at the site didn无毛视频檛 really start until the middle of July 2021. 无毛视频淭his will be our first full season of growing and workshops.无毛视频�
Kilgore said items planted in the garden include tomatoes, spinach, kale, lettuce and cilantro. She also has plans for an herb garden in the summer.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 hoping to get some of the potted herbs that I无毛视频檝e grown in the greenhouse to some of the downtown businesses to serve as kind of a way to fund-raise for the garden,无毛视频� Kilgore said.
All surplus Firefly Gardens produce will be donated to the Community Circle Food Pantry.
Kiilgore, like many others, also has noticed the increase in home gardens.
无毛视频淚 have heard that and also have spoken with friends and family who have increased their gardening at home because of the pandemic,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淧eople realized when the grocery stores had shortages of meat and produce that being more self-sufficient might be something to look into.无毛视频�
Flenniken Public Library in Carmichaels has had a community garden since 2014. It was recently renovated in conjunction with Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Nicole Mitchell, the library无毛视频檚 executive director, said the garden has eight raised beds and a rock garden where people can paint inspirational messages.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 open to absolutely everyone,无毛视频� Mitchell said. 无毛视频淎ll of the food that is produced from the garden will be in the library on the table in the entryway for people to take. We无毛视频檙e trying to get more buzz about the garden being out there. We无毛视频檙e trying to get more people to use it.无毛视频�
Mitchell said a past grant from the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank allowed for the planting of two blueberry bushes, a peach tree and two apple trees.
无毛视频淭hey should be producing fruit this year,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 free to the community. It无毛视频檚 open to everybody. Everybody can come and help and everybody can come and eat it.无毛视频�
The library also is starting a seed catalog for people to be able to get seeds to plant.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 good for everybody无毛视频檚 mental health,无毛视频� Ambrosini said of gardening. 无毛视频淚t gives you purpose. It gives you something to do. You get to see something grow, then you无毛视频檙e able to eat the produce.无毛视频�