READY TO GROW
Community gardens to feature bigger plots, new events in second season
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » After a successful first season at Pitney Meadows Community Gardens, Natalie Walsh wanted to make the gardens even better.
That’s why she and her husband traveled across the country, visiting 27 community gardens in places like Florida, Nebraska and even Hawaii.
Walsh, the garden director, is now ready for her second season with bigger plots, more gardeners and new events planned at Pitney Meadows Community Farm at 233 West Ave.
“You start to learn about different parts of the country when you’re traveling like this,” said Walsh. “It was just a unique experience, really different.”
In Hawaii, Walsh found plots 30-by-30 square feet, noting how families rely on the community garden for food.
Pitney Meadows Community Gardens’ largest plots are three 11-by-19, inground. In the first season, the gardens had 49 beds, but they’ve added 24 more this year. Walsh said the community requested bigger beds.
Walsh learned different things from gardens of all shapes and sizes throughout her trip. In New Mexico, gardeners face concerns over water. In Chicago, the community garden specializes in how to incorporate disabled gardeners as well as the idea of having a kitchen in a shed. Walsh said she hopes to implement what she learned to Pitney Meadows Community Gardens.
In Florida, Walsh visited a children’s garden. In Nebraska, 11 languages were spoken at a community garden.
"To have all these different organizations involved, to me that is just so wonderful. It’s so enriching to all of us. This is a community garden in the truest sense of the word."
— Natalie Walsh
“It was an eye-opening experience, I learned a lot about community gardening, organization and management,” said Walsh. “And how to keep it fun.”
The activities planned this season range from a Fairy Garden Party next weekend to adult programming like Food Preservation 101. Margie Ingram organizes the various programming, while Faye Mihuta will implement a Saturday morning reading program for children beginning in June.
Jess Clauser, the Girl Scout coordinator, works with five troops to create an exhibit featuring 50 fairy houses.
On Saturday afternoon, May 19, from 1 until 3 p.m., the Girl Scouts host a fairy gathering, inviting everybody in the community to see the houses they’ve built using natural materials in order to receive a badge.
Additional programs include: Pergola Dedication, June 2; Blueberry Freezer Jam for Kids with Diane Whitten, July 14; and a weekly gardening class with Walsh from June 30 through July 28. Adult programming includes: Food Preservation 101 on May 24 from 6:307:30 p.m. with Whitten; Tips for Great Tomatoes on May 31 from 6:30 until 7:30 with Robert Curry; Harvesting Our Veggies and Herbs on July 12 from 6:30 to 7:30 with Kay Schlembach and Herbs: A Cook’s Best Friend on July 19 from 6:30 until 7:30 with Kim London.
As Walsh witnessed various community gardens throughout the country, she referenced the community feeling at the heart of each one. That’s not different at Pitney Meadows, she said.
Ten community organizations have plots or have volunteered so far this season: Saratoga Bridges, Saratoga Transitional Services, Saratoga Senior Center, Youth Squared, Living Resources, the Waldorf School, Girl Scouts, Navy volunteers, Spa Catholic Central High School and Saratoga Springs High School.
“To have all these different organizations involved, to me that is just so wonderful. It’s so enriching to all of us,” said Walsh. “This is a community garden in the truest sense of the word.”