5/31/2012 - South Side Leader
     

The layout of the Springfield Township Community Garden is shown below. Shown above, gardener Pat Rossi gets a start on planting some flowers on the edges of her plot.

Photos courtesy of Jerry Salisbury

Master Gardener Jerry Salisbury, who oversees the garden for the township, said the third year of the program is under way and all plots are taken.

“Some of the people told me it is the cheapest and most beneficial therapy they can find,” Salisbury said. “It’s good exercise; people are out there doing what they need to do. It’s a win-win-win.”

Salisbury, also chairman of the township’s parks board, said he took a course through the Master Gardener program on local foods and backyard gardens and was inspired to get the program going after that.

“I thought it would be nice because a lot of people in Springfield for one reason or another can’t have a garden,” he said.

The township started out offering a dozen of the 20-by-20-foot plots in the first year, located on city of Akron-owned land between Schrop Intermediate School and the JEDD Park on Pickle Road. This year, there were 18 plots prepared and all have been reserved, Salisbury said.

“If we had more demand, we could probably double the size,” he said. “We have a good group of people and everyone gets along well.”

The garden typically opens around Memorial Day, but this year it opened a week early because of the warm weather, Salisbury said. Gardeners began planting the next day, he added.

Salisbury recommends gardeners use organic methods for their crops. Last year, the garden provided a separate area for anyone interested in using nonorganic methods, but there wasn’t any interest, he said.

“Everybody is happy to do it that way,” he said of the push for organic farming. “So many more people are more interested in that.”

Salisbury and his wife are both Master Gardeners, trained under a program through The Ohio State University Extension. They offer advice to the gardeners throughout the season. Salisbury also tests the soil each year.

He also maintains a plot at the garden, in addition to the 13 raised beds he has at his Springfield home.

The most common vegetables being grown in the garden are tomatoes and peppers, Salisbury said. One gardener plants Yukon gold potatoes.

“We have one family from Kenya,” Salisbury said. “They grow stuff that I don’t know about, but they tell me they have a hard time finding it here.”

While the garden’s plots are all taken for this year, Salisbury said he believes the program will continue in the coming years because consumers are becoming more aware of the benefits of locally grown produce.

“As we learn more and more about that, people are learning the only options are to grow locally and freeze your produce and can vegetables or do whatever you have to do,” he said.

For additional information on the community garden, contact Salisbury at js@mountain-pride.com.

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