SCOA GARDEN CLUB

This spring, cars passing by the Sowega Council on Aging (SCOA) Regional Resource Center at 335 W. Society Avenue often slowed down as the drivers caught a glimpse of the neighborhood garden tucked beside the facility. The two front beds facing the parking lot and street overflowed with a happy mix of vibrant blossoms, while the beds behind them contained a variety of thriving vegetables.

SCOA AmeriCorps Volunteer Program Coordinator Sarah Bass was the staff member tasked with bringing the garden back to life last year after it fell into disuse during the pandemic. The garden got its start at the end of 2014 when volunteers installed raised garden beds with the goal to make it more convenient for seniors to grow vegetables, plants, and flowers. Then the pandemic put a halt to in-person programming. After receiving a community garden grant from CareSource last fall, staff were looking to revive the garden when new volunteer Jim Ball came along.

“I had been retired for about a year and a half when I approached SCOA about serving on the ramp building team,” says Jim. “It turned out that they had plenty of workers in that area, but Sarah asked me if I would be willing to help with the garden. I was glad to do that.”

Originally from Ohio, Ball had cultivated many backyard gardens in the past and had a good basic knowledge of gardening. He and other volunteers organized a Garden Club for the new project. With the help of the Albany Parks and Recreation Department and the Phoebe Foundation, they first worked to clean out the boxes and then to repair and rebuild the raised beds in preparation for planting.

After attending a workshop by Farmer Fredo in February, the team left inspired and armed with the information to move ahead. Fredo supplied vegetable seedling transplants and seeds, while Bass and Ball submitted a plan and budget for the flower beds.

The members of the garden club put the first vegetables in the ground March 13.

Then they met at Lawn Barber to pick out flowers, planting them in April. The result is two flower beds brimming with colorful blooms that include marigolds, roses, butterfly bushes, petunias, and begonias, interplanted with a variety of herbs. The four vegetable boxes have already produced kale, collards, broccoli, cabbage, turnips, and mustard greens. The first harvest in mid-April yielded kale and turnips which were distributed to visitors at the center. Most recently, warm-weather crops tomatoes and peppers have been added to the garden.

The group of Garden Club volunteers participate in garden workdays and drop by regularly to weed and hand water until the new irrigation system is installed. On a recent morning, volunteers Nikita Daniel and Rosa Watts joined Ball at the garden to do some watering. They both say they enjoy helping with the garden because it gives them the opportunity to be outdoors and experience the beauty of nature.

“I have always loved being outside,” says Daniel, who also grows flowers at home. “I’m learning new tips and techniques. Jim has been great about sharing his knowledge.”

To supplement his personal gardening experience, Ball has enrolled in the Master Gardener program offered by the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. He is able to bring back to SCOA the knowledge he is gaining there, as well as the results of extensive research he is doing on his own.

Watts, who remembers working alongside her own grandmother in the garden when she was a child, marvels at the beauty all around her in nature. “I am always just amazed at how distinctly different each flower blossom is, each beautiful in its own way. A garden is just good for the soul.”

After the successful inaugural spring season, volunteers and staff are full of plans for the future, including expanding the planting area from six boxes to a dozen and planting more high-yield produce.

“It’s a learning process,” says Bass. “We are learning the best way to use this resource. We want to get the most out of each 12x4-foot bed so that we can make the most difference for our members and the community.”

The purpose of the garden also fits in with the purpose of the Senior Hunger Coalition, which seeks to end senior hunger and provides mini-grant funds annually toward that end. When it comes to hunger among senior citizens, Georgia ranks among the worst in the nation, according to Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, food pantries and meal programs. In 2022, the state was tied with Alabama and Texas in the bottom 10 among the 50 states and the District of Columbia with a 9% rate of food insecurity for those 60 and older. SCOA is in the process of applying for another grant that will allow them to utilize what they’ve learned to plant more high-yield vegetables.

Garden volunteers are always needed and welcomed. Currently, about a dozen members participate whenever they are able.

“I want to stress that our Garden Club is nothing formal and is open to everyone,” stresses Ball. “We don’t have a president or any officers, and we don’t have any requirements for membership. The staff posts garden workdays, and everyone is welcome. You are a member of the Garden Club whenever you say you are!”

SCOA is hoping the garden will be a place for the community to work together and build relationships while growing healthy food that will help combat the problem of senior hunger in Southwest Georgia.