Robert Brault, noted operatic tenor, once said, “If you’ve never experienced the joy of accomplishing more than you can imagine, plant a garden.”
At Elm Creek Community Garden those words are ringing true this year.
Founded in 2005, the garden has become an annual tradition for Iolans, a place where the community can come together.
“It serves a lot of people,” John Richards, master gardener, said. “Folks are able to grow all kinds of different things that help them feed their families. It also teaches people a strong work ethic.”
Richards had been the garden coordinator through 2011. Tracy Keagle has taken over the position this year and will look to maintain the garden’s growth. No major facilities or equipment improvements are expected, according to Keagle.
“We just want to maintain what we’ve been doing,” Keagle said. “Helping each other with what we have now is a very important goal.”
This year might be the best on record. With all plots taken, there have been past seasons where some areas didn’t get the needed care due to lack of time or experience.
“It just seems like everyone is taking a greater interest in their areas,” Richards said. “There’s always been at least a couple of plots each year where it just doesn’t seem to go. This year people have been doing a good job of helping each other out and getting things done.”
Richards appreciates the hard work the community seems to be putting in to making the garden bloom this year.
Many of the plots feature a wide range of crops, something he is happy to see since Richards has been an experimenter himself. This year Richards is using different placement techniques to increase the amount of plants in his tomato, carrot and green bean crops. In addition, he is trying out a new kind of cabbage, called megaton cabbage.
“It produces a much bigger head,” Richards said. “I’ve never tried it but that’s what’s so fun about doing this. Trying new things and figuring out why stuff happens.”
In addition to the regular plots, which are bursting with green color, several of the raised bucket plots are showing signs of life. The disabled community has been taking care of the plots, sharing in the work of making the garden grow.
“Those were part of the original garden equipment when we first started it,” Richards said. “As we’ve grown they’ve been moved to where they can be accessed by people who might not be able to get into a ground plot. It’s a wonderful thing that allows anyone who wants to be involved to get into it.”
Up until recently, the garden was being utilized by members of the community for private consumption. Some local businesses are thinking about working with people like Richards to put fresh produce on their menus. According to Richards, Iola A&W Family Restaurant is almost done with its contract that requires it take in produce from out of the area.
“I can’t speak for them but I know they and some others have shown some interest,” Richards said. “We’ll see what happens in the future, but I wouldn’t mind going and getting a burger with a fresh slice of tomato on it personally.”
For the novice grower Richards’ advice is simple.
