COMMUNITY GARDEN @SNELLVILLE Season winding down, but still busy
By Gretchen Schulz The summer crops are dwindling in the beds at the Community Garden @ Snellville. But gardeners who planted sweet potatoes are getting excited about seeing their harvest this fall. And almost all gardeners are beginning to think about cool-season vegetables to plant: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, collards, kale, spinach and lettuces. For dedicated gardeners, the beds at the garden yield something almost year round. In addition to the harvest from the beds, there are other exciting activities going on at the garden. We are in the process of installing a concrete slab in the pavilion, which will enhance its function as a place to get out of the shade for the gardeners as well as an outdoor classroom. Gardeners and volunteers extraordinaire Ronnie Bentley, Wes Nettleton and Kurt Schulz have been digging trenches to install conduit for electricity in preparation for the slab.
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The garden is also partnering with the University of Georgia Extension Program in a research project titled “The Urban Double Crop.” This project involves growing cool-season vegetables in dormant established warm-season turf. The project at our garden will be led by Wes Nettleton and Ileen Meggison, master gardeners who have beds at the garden. The university will provide all supplies. We also have a gardener who, in addition to the tomatoes he grows for his family’s consumption, grows beans for use in research. Dr. Lawrence Blumer, Professor in the Department of Biology at Morehouse College, studies bean beetles, which are agricultural pests in Africa and Asia. How exciting it is that our Snellville garden is producing beans to benefit agriculture in other parts of the world. The Community Garden @ Snellville is an exciting project to be a part of. The garden is located in Briscoe Park across the street from the city’s Recycling Center. Snellville, Where Everybody’s Proud to be Somebody