Green Thumbs for a Good Cause

Gardening is awfully rewarding. Watching your hard work grow and change into something that will eventually find its way onto your table. Being able to produce something tangible and delicious. After all, there is nothing more delicious than home-grown vegetables, straight from the garden out back.

A new project has started in Gravette that is built around the rewards of gardening and sharing it with others. The Gravette Community Garden was started last year to provide fresh vegetables for families and individuals around the area. Since the first meeting about the project in April 2009, the garden has flourished and operated on donations of money, time and supplies from generous community members. Over the summer of 2009, the garden was able to provide fresh produce to over 1,000 people including four needy families and seniors.

Several clubs and individual volunteers helped maintained the harvest of the garden, which included vegetables such as tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes, bell peppers, and even jalapenos. With a bountiful harvest that far surpassed many expectations, the garden is about to embark on another fruitful year, with hopes of planting this year’s crop around the middle of March.

As only the second year of the project, Marisol Jackson, the project coordinator, is looking forward to watching the Gravette Garden grow in 2010. Because the project survives solely off donations and help from others, the garden has a list of items it would like to accomplish this year. Included on that wish list is building a shed, finishing construction on it’s children’s garden, and to start working within the guidelines of a “Wildlife Habitat” grant in order to provide a hands-on learning environment for elementary classes.

Whether it be donating money or supplies, or even getting your hands dirty in the field, there are many opportunities to get involved and help out at the Gravette Gardens. To learn more about this great project, or to find out how to donate items, please contact the Gravette Gardens at 479.899.7290.