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FAULKNER COUNTY URBAN FARM PROJECT SHOWS OFF BENEFITS OF GARDENING
Abackyard garden is dream for many people. Growing your own vegetables can be a healthy way to eat better and enjoy the outdoors.
It can be a daunting challenge to master the skill of gardening, from learning the basics to finding the space required, but the Faulkner County Library in Conway has a program designed to help people overcome these challenges.
The Faulkner County Urban Farm Project began in 2010. It started simply as a competition between the city’s three colleges — Central Baptist College, Hendrix College and the University of Central Arkansas.
Sean Ott, garden librarian at the Faulkner County Library, got involved with the project after living at Heifer Ranch in Perryville in the summer of 2011, when he was a UCA junior. He said that while he was at the ranch, he fell in love with the agriculture part of the nonprofit organization’s mission.
Ott said when he came back to Conway, one of his professors, Cliff Beacham, told him about the Urban Farm Project.
“I started volunteering and feeding my gardening addiction,” Ott said.
He said the garden plot is about 50 feet by 150 feet, and a greenhouse in the middle divides it into two sections. The farm is used to grow a variety of plants, including annual vegetables, flowers and perennial plants such as berries.
The garden uses several techniques to teach people how to grow vegetables in different soil. For example, Ott said in
February they planted potatoes in wire towers to grow vertically. As the plants grow, he said, they will add straw, compost and garden or potting soil to the towers as potatoes develop in the ground and in the towers. Ott said this is a good method for the heavy clay soil found in central Arkansas.
Ott said he wants to expand the types of plants grown in the garden.
“We are looking to expand our agricultural and horticultural education, especially horticulture and native plants,” he said. “We want to add more natives and alternative edibles like pawpaw, aronia/ chokecherry and elderberry.”
Ott said it takes a lot of work to make the garden happen, adding that community volunteers, student volunteers and interns put in many hours during the week.
The Urban Farm Project also works with a number of area and local groups. Ott is working with Richard Klerk, the county extension agent, and the local Master Gardeners group to develop programs. Klerk will speak April 11 at the library on gardening techniques.
The library also works with ROOST (Revitalizing Ozark-Ouachita Seed Traditions), an organization that works to preserve heirloom seeds. The library has the first public seed library in the state and is working on organizing seed swaps with ROOST. Those looking to explore the seed library can get access through the library’s front desk or schedule an appointment with Ott.
He said the Faulkner County Urban Farm Project is important because the skill of gardening can be a valuable tool. He said that even if someone just takes a tour of the garden, he or she can see the value of growing his or her own plants.
“Agriculture literacy is a real thing and important,” he said. “If nothing else, patrons are able to walk through the garden for exposure and passive learning.”
For more information, visit fcl.org.