Conelia Dixon
Contributing Columnist
If you live in Sidney, Ohio, you have most likely heard about “The People’s Garden”. If you haven’t, you will know about it now. For 11 years, the Agape Distribution food pantry has been receiving hundreds of pounds of fresh vegetables each season that are grown on site by a few hard-working volunteers.
Last season, over 900 pounds of food was produced. We are energetic people who enjoy seeing good organic food growing and who enjoy seeing the smiles of the shoppers in the pantry as we give them nutritious food fresh from the garden, pulled right out of the soil or picked off the plants.
If you see us when we are working, you will see us sweating, but happy. Tomatoes (green and red), hot peppers, salad greens, onions, herbs, beans, peas, okra, and quite a few other vegetables that we grow, harvest and plant again are some of the items in the garden.
This is the end of August, and some gardens are “put to bed” for the winter in September or at least October. We use succession planting and replant several times when a bed is emptied… if the weather cooperates. We are good at adapting our methods and adjusting what is planted in each of our 56 raised beds. We also use crop rotation and companion planting to encourage success. Come and learn about these topics. See the new crops of peas, beans, lettuce, radishes, and cabbage.
Soil for the garden is a mixture of compost that we make ourselves, farm soil, leaf mulch, alpaca manure, kitchen scraps, weeds, and a little spent coffee grounds. As you know, the soil underfoot here in Shelby County is a fertile, but hard-to-work-by hand rocky clay. When we first started the garden 11 years ago, we found that to plant anything, we needed to build raised beds and fill them with workable soil.
We started with four 4×8 wooden beds and now have 56 metal beds with fencing around each one to keep out the critters that creep in from the woods. We have an easy time working in the fluffy soil that we mix, and it is tested every couple of years so that we know the pH is neutral.
This year, at the end of the season we are going to do some cover crop planting to enrich the soil. With this dry weather we have had lately, we have had no problem watering with our 1550 gallons of rainwater, also tested regularly. Remember when we had all that rain? We collected it in our big tank and then as we water the crops, it is returned to the Great Miami River through the groundwater flow.
The People’s Garden is located on Agape property, between the Great Miami River and a residential area, plus on the south side is woods. Many birds, deer and groundhogs are commonly seen. We have learned to coexist. The birds are very helpful to control insects that we don’t want. Many insects are beneficial, and we encourage them. That is another topic for another time. We can tell you how we manage to have zero tomato worms!
Oh yes, I almost forgot, we need some human-size scarecrows. Are you artistic, have a sense of humor, or just find a challenge fun? Make us some human looking scarecrows. We can use any that you all can make! Call me to schedule a time to bring them to the garden.
We have three, rather new, energetic, regular volunteers this season and a few occasional ones. So thankful for them to help. If you want to learn more about gardening, or if you have skills to share, or just love to be outside and working in the garden, please call (937-726-9525) or come by on Thursday mornings and let us meet you too. We are a good, hardworking, rather organized group and we love visitors and of course new regular volunteers.
We have some needs, one of which is a large load of garden soil to replace some that is naturally lost. We must load it in some of the beds in the fall, end of October or later, so that in spring we can begin planting at the proper time. We begin planting crops in March, and continue into September. Some vegetables like cold weather, like carrots, arugula, kale and all the brassica family, and onions, and can be harvested in winter.
Something else is needed, and that is funds or gift cards to buy repair materials, gas for the mowers, money to pay for electric bills, the porta-potty, and miscellaneous expenses. Agape provides our bottled drinking water and some snacks, plus sometimes a few other needed items. We operate on donations and all work is done by volunteers, no one is paid. All produce goes to feed hungry people in the area.
If you happen to have Menards rebates that you do not need, you can donate them to the garden. Call Agape Distribution number (937-498-4368), if you have donations for the garden. It is easy to give to people who are hungry. They really are thankful.
Contact information:
• Address of Agape Distribution pantry and The People’s Garden: 209 Brooklyn in Sidney, Ohio 45365.
• Phone number for Agape: 937-498-4368.
• Garden manager: Conelia Dixon phone number 937-726-9525.
