Breaking out of the window box

Last summer, Gail Weaver had fresh broccoli, tomatoes, lettuce and green peppers from her garden.

She hopes this summer will be the same.

Weaver, a 63-year-old Bloomington resident, participates in a community garden. She used to have a garden on her own property, but a busy work schedule and too much yard shade eventually made tending it complicated.

Weaver signed up for a plot in the community garden for the first time last year, and maintaining it through the Bloomington Community Gardens Program is much easier than having it at her own house, she said.

Besides convenience, Weaver prefers community gardening because of its social nature.

“You aren’t isolated like you would be at home,” she said. “It’s kind of nice to have other people around when you are gardening.”

Weaver said she sees people from all age groups and communities at the garden.
“You also meet other people that are interested in gardening and talk to them about their gardening experiences,” she said.

The Bloomington Community Gardens Programs has two locations with different plot prices.

The Willie Streeter Community Gardens plots range from $26 to $60, according to the program’s Web site. The Crestmont Community Gardens plots range from $10 to $12.

However, for some, the plots might be too pricey for their budget. The program also gives financial aid assistance to help cover plot rental fees, according to the city’s Web site.

Gardening support includes tilling, water, path maintenance, fencing and composting, according to the program’s Web site. There is also a garden supervisor who can answer questions and provide assistance.

Gardeners looking to go even greener than growing their own food can rent organic-only plots from the Bloomington Community Gardens.

Weaver said she has a regular plot but tries to keep the number of chemicals she uses to a minimum.

“I like the option of using either,” she said.

Weaver said one of the best things about her community garden is that she knew she planted the food she was eating.

“It just tasted so much better,” she said. “Part of that is because you take pride in what you grew.”

Organic gardens include compost bins where people put scraps of their vegetables that they later use to enhance their soil, Weaver said. In addition, people wanting to help the less fortunate can donate extra vegetables that are then taken to a local shelter, she said.

The University’s Hilltop Garden and Nature Center also offers community gardens. There are 27 10-by-10 plots that cost $50 each, said Greg Speichert, the Hilltop Garden and Nature Center director. The plots come with tomato cages, mulch, compost, water and other tools gardeners need to get started, according to the garden’s Web site.

Like the city’s program, Hilltop has volunteers who keep an eye on the plots and help gardeners with any questions they have.

Most of the people that garden at Hilltop are IU students or faculty members, and gardeners can grow almost anything they want, Speichert said.

However, if a person doesn’t feel they can commit to a plot, they can also volunteer at a community garden.

Hilltop accepts volunteers to help maintain the plots, especially when their owners are out of town.

People who volunteer for more than three hours can take produce from the Tomato Test Garden and Ornamental Vegetable Patch home, according to the Hilltop Garden and Nature Center’s Web site.

Both Hilltop Gardens and the Bloomington Community Garden Program let people rent plots from April 1 until the end of October.