By Chris Peterson
For the Gazette-Times | Posted: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 12:00 am
Interest in gardening has skyrocketed in our tight economy. If you have neither space for one, nor experience, you'll find both at a community garden. Gardeners love to share advice. Master Gardeners are ready with advice just a phone call, 766-6750, or click away: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/grow/grow/. Good garden catalogs give enough information to get you started, too.
The Alpine Community Garden is unique in that, rather than individual plots, everyone shares the work, tools and produce of this big "Stone Soup" garden. Excess goes to a food bank or is canned or dried for winter use. Contact Llyn Peabody and Chris Burns at Alpinecogarden@gmail.com. Their Web site, www.AlpineGarden.blogspot.com, has a lot of photos and how-to information (find more on monthly archives).
Dunawi Creek Community Garden is the largest in Corvallis and organic. It blooms on the hill above the Starker Arts Park parking lot. All perennial plots are full, but some annual beds might still be available if you contact coordinator Sue Domingues right away at 754-7239 or sue_domingues@hotmail.com. Annual plots run $30 to $60 a year, depending on size. This includes water, shared tools and equipment and a lot of sunshine.
Domingues also coordinates the organic Westside Community Church Garden, a collaborative effort of several churches. Here low-income families can grow food at reduced cost. It's a good place to learn by doing. Seasoned gardeners are welcome, too. Call Domingues to arrange a time. Excess produce goes to local food banks.
Just below the Dunawi Creek Garden is the SAGE (Starker Arts Garden for Education) plot, an expanded version of the Corvallis Environmental Center's former Youth Garden Project. Youth can still be involved, but so can folks of any age or income. Learn by helping at work parties every Thursday and Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m. and go home with produce.
For more on SAGE projects, contact Leslie Van Allen at 753-9211 or leslie@corvallisenvironmentalcenter.org.
Avery Park Community Gardens, the product of a partnership between the Corvallis Environmental Center and Corvallis Parks & Recreation, is a tranquil garden spot for heat-loving plants. A 300-square-foot plot is just $40 for the season. To reserve a one, call or e-mail Leslie Van Allen.
For details on the four gardens above, see www.corvallisenvironmentalcenter.org, where you can also fill out the application form online for the Avery Park garden or call 753-9211.
The Calvin Presbyterian Church Community Garden is a neighborhood magnet at Cleveland Avenue, between Dixon and 13th streets, across from Garfield School. All plots are spoken for, but you can get on the waiting list by contacting Terry Morse at calvingarden@hotmail.com.
The new Philomath Community Garden debuts this month next to the Philomath Food Bank. Plots on the 1/2-acre lot are rented on a sliding scale. Fruit trees are already on site, thanks to Jeff Mitchell's Philomath High School horticulture students. To reserve a plot or for information, contact Chris Shonnard at chris@shonnards.com or 929-3524.
Fresh Sheet alerts readers to the seasonal foods that make the mid-Willamette Valley such a rich culinary area. Through tips from farmers, ranchers, fishers, cheese-makers and other food producers, as well as chefs and restaurateurs, Chris Peterson tracks what's flowing from soil and sea to local plates. Contact her at localfood@peak.org.