By Colin Treiber
Conveniently located at Fourth and Duquesne, the Patagonia Community Garden offers a resource to all aspiring or experienced gardeners. It is a great opportunity to connect directly to our food, our neighbors, and the earth. By participating in local food growing, we become closer to the land, the community, and life. Through growing our food we take a vested interest in our own health and the health of this planet.
The Patagonia Community Garden offers a variety of plots. Find the space that resonates with you and make it your own. In addition to the standard beds, we will have some raised beds, developed this year to assist those that may find it difficult to plant at ground level.
The community space is convenient and affordable. Not only are you supported by the knowledge of many other gardeners, but you also have access to necessary tools, water, seeds, and seedlings to make your plot a beautiful and abundant garden.
The importance of the community garden—and the space it offers—is manifold. The dryness that has developed over the last several years has intensified recently. Poor agricultural conditions spread across the farmlands of the west. It seems inevitable that our nation’s food production will dwindle, and consumers will feel the burden of increasing prices.
Fortunately, the systems supporting our nation’s food industry are changing. Small, regionally adapted, and sustainable farms are gaining traction. Community gardens and home gardens are sprouting into prominence, and for good reason. As the Community Gardening Association puts it:
“Community gardening improves people’s quality of life by providing a catalyst for neighborhood and community development, stimulating social interaction, encouraging self-reliance, beautifying neighborhoods, producing nutritious food, reducing family food budgets, conserving resources and creating opportunities for recreation, exercise, therapy and education.”
It could be said that the community garden is a doorway to new growth and intimacy in our life. It is an opportunity to develop respect and understanding for all life that surrounds us and an occasion to bring greater abundance into our lives. Let us do the work, together, to nurture this abundance.
The Patagonia Community Garden rents plots at the low price of $5 per month. The garden has a variety of seedlings available for gardeners. They will begin to be available for sale in the garden greenhouse by late March. We look forward to turning the garden into a true community of gardeners and growers eager to share experience, ideas, stories, and food. Please call Martha at 520-394-2752 with any questions. See you in the garden!
Colin Treiber is PARA’s social media magician. Be sure to say ‘hi’ on Facebook or Twitter!
