Community gardens thrive in Flathead

In the growing season of 2010, new community gardens have sprouted up across the Flathead and long-standing plots now have multiple gardeners tilling the soil.

George and Connie Colonius can attest to the burgeoning interest in Kalispell Community Garden. Now coordinators of the gardens at Liberty Street and Hawthorne Avenue, the couple started gardening at the site in 2004 when only 10 people worked the plots.

“Last year, we had 41 garden plots and 57 gardeners,” George said. “The benefit of the garden has been tremendous.”

He and Connie donated 480 pounds of fresh produce to the food bank over the summer. Colonius calculated that a total of about 2,000 pounds was donated by individual community gardeners.

According to Colonius, most people garden for the joy of watching plants grow and the pleasure of sharing their harvest with families, neighbors and community members in need.

He and Connie have a larger garden plot than then the two of them need for themselves but they find the food bank appreciates all the extra produce they grow.

“We take them garbage bags full of Swiss chard and tomatoes,” he said. “I’m thrilled that more community gardens are getting started.”

In recent years, community gardens have sprung up from Whitefish to Kalispell to Bigfork offering plots of ground for minimal fees. Community gardens include:

• Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell.

 This new site offers 15 4-by-8-foot raised beds composted and ready to plant. It includes an orchard area, children’s garden and areas for schools and youth programs. Five plots were reserved for food banks and scholarship recipients.

The new beds were built as a Youth Service Day project organized by Nourish the Flathead in partnership with the Montana Conservation Corps and Flathead Valley Community College. Lots, assigned by lottery, rent for $35 per season plus a $15 refundable deposit which pays for water, tools and consultation with a garden manager.

Participants also receive discounts on heirloom seeds and entry to two educational workshops to be held during the summer.

Nourish the Flathead, a nonprofit organization, manages the garden project. Their mission is to ensure access to locally produced, nutritious food for all families.

The organization formed to promote sustainable gardening practices such as organic gardening and on-site composting. The idea was to serve as an umbrella nonprofit to nurture the start-up of other community gardens.

For additional information, visit nourishtheflathead.org or contact Shareen Spring at 270-6402 or shareen@nourishtheflathead.org.

• Bigfork/Ferndale Community Garden next to St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church on Montana Highway 209 in Ferndale.

According to Michelle Patterson, the church donated the lot next to its parking lot for this community garden. She said the planning started last year, including a test planting of potatoes and corn to generate interest.

“Our method is Mel Bartholomew’s square-foot gardening,” she said. “It uses just 16 inches of soil.”

Discussed extensively on the website www.squarefootgardening.com, the method combines compost, perlite and peat moss for a mixture that grows numerous plants in 4-by-4-foot boxes divided into 16 squares.

  “The size is ideal,” Patterson said. “You can reach all parts of the box.”

For an annual fee of $20, the Bigfork/Ferdale Community Garden supplies workshops, one 4-foot box, the soil mix and wood chip mulch for paths. People may rent more than one box if they desire.

Money from the annual fee supports the garden operations. The group has a plan where people may donate labor in lieu of the rental fee.

Gardeners provide their own plants and agree to work, weed and harvest their plots all season as well as to clear the mulched pathways.  As of late April, volunteers had built 34 boxes and a work day is set up to construct about 24 more.

“We have 52 people signed up,” Patterson said. “There’s enough room for 300 spots.”

Sponsors paid for 15 boxes designated to grow food for the Bigfork Food Bank which provided a list of its produce needs.

Patterson plans to place a combination lock on the fenced site so that people may work on their garden during the week. She foresees having work days each Saturday during the growing season with many people enjoying camaraderie as they tend their gardens.

“We like to say, ‘Grow some friendships while growing your garden,’” Patterson said.

For more information, and a video clip about square-foot gardening visit: www.bigforkferndalecommunitygarden.com or call Patterson at 837-0982.

• Whitefish Community Garden at the Whitefish United Methodist Church at 1150 Wisconsin Avenue.

Whitefish launched its community garden last summer with the goal of encouraging people to grow their own food and to expand awareness of the benefits of organic, locally grown food.

Mike Henson, who with his wife Jennifer helped organize the project, said the fenced site has room for up to 80 4-by-12-foot plots. They have people signed up for 35 plots this season.

“Our big limiting factor is water,” Henson said.

Last year, the group used a tank which the fire department filled every 10 to 12 days. Henson said they hope to get a well or tie into city water.

For the large plots, gardeners pay $45 plus a refundable deposit of $20 for the season. Henson said assistance is available from grant money for people like single women with families.

After signing up, gardeners put in at least six hours helping construct the raised-bed frames. The Whitefish Community Garden fills the beds with the “lasagna” system, starting with burlap or cardboard then layers of straw, leaves, sheep manure and topsoil.

Henson said this system provides an effective growing medium which saves money over purchasing large amounts of soil. Gardeners provide their own plants and must follow rules which require using only organic products and keeping plots weeded.  

For more information, check out the website whitefishcommunitygarden.com or call Henson at 863-9758 or e-mail to mkhenson@hotmail.com

• Kalispell Community Garden located at the intersection of Liberty Street and Hawthorne Avenue.

The Kalispell Community Garden is a joint effort of the Montana Conservation Corps and the city of Kalispell, which provides the land and water. Colonius and his wife coordinate day-to-day activities and serve as contacts for spaces at 755-4830.

Those who gardened previously get the first shot at signing up for these free spaces the next year. In response to the demand for spaces, plots have been subdivided several times and all have been assigned this year.

“We’ve never turned anyone away,” Colonius said. “But we’ve divided about as much as we can.”

Cliff Kipp, regional supervisor for Montana Conservation Corps, said that his youth crews help maintain the community garden.

“We do annual maintenance,” he said. “We work with the city to remove debris and get mulch over there.”

Colonius and another gardener rent heavy-duty rototillers to till up the 16,600 square feet of garden space in fall and spring. They also implemented more effective weed-control procedures that have reduced the stress and increased the success of community gardeners.

“It’s a joy to see all the interest now,” Colonius said.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com