The Community Garden program has been running with the assistance of Master Gardeners and the cooperation of the staff at each location.  The program helps to put in and maintain raised and/or accessible gardens for community.   We had request to increase the program at each site and to set up a couple new places where people gather.   The residents even requested their own kind of tomatoes and peppers to raise.  Buy in has been fantastic for the community.  They are now requesting fall vegetable plants to watch and care for during the cooler months.  

The areas we have programs in at this time are:  in 2 nursing home facilities, a women's shelter, the detention center, and the 2 adult living centers.     The staff of these facilities assisted by harvesting and preparing the vegetables for the residents.  

The Sweet Corn Test plot managed by the Extension Service and helps growers and sweet corn enthusiast to try new varieties.  We do taste tests when the corn is ready to pick, then as we are finishing up with a variety the Detention Center Work Release program comes to harvest the rest of the plot and they utilize it in their kitchen.  The program has evolved into a vegetable program, we help them plant and manage raised beds at the detention center and now we have added back the larger garden.  We work directly with the inmates and wardens to teach about gardening and the proper harvest time and method.  New varieties as well as old are planted each year to compare their disease resistance, production, and taste.  Tasha Tucker, EFNEP has a Recovery Bodies class she teaches at the Detention Center and uses the vegetables from our raised beds to show how easy it is to go from garden to table.  

We offer other demonstrations at our raised beds at our office as customers drive through the Farmers Market, every Tuesday evening and Saturday mornings.  It is truly amazing how surprised people are that a raised bed can produce over 20 pounds of squash with one picking.  

We offered a hands-on class on how to choose good varieties and plants and seeds were given out.  We have received comments from participants that they have put our recommendations into practice and used the new varieties and their gardens look so much better, and they can’t wait for their first tomato of the season.