Nicholson Elementary School garden.
Journal Review File Photo
Journal Review
The Community Growers of Montgomery County are back with their annual Garden Walk. The free tour will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.
Each year the group highlights different gardens from around town to share ideas and talk about the importance of soil health, and growing sustainable, healthy foods.
This year will feature two different styles of community gardens.
The first stop on the tour is the Nicholson Elementary Garden. The Master Gardeners will be there to share the history of the garden and the work they continue to do with the students and families that go there.
During recess in the spring the students can spend their recess time helping the Master Gardeners prepare the garden for planting. In June of each year, the Master Gardeners start the Summer Garden Program on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, where interested students and their parents can come to the garden to work and harvest in the garden. The students get to try out some of the fresh vegetables grown.
Of the harvested produce the students and their parents can choose which vegetables they want to take home and share with their families. The produce not claimed by the families is then donated to one of the local food pantries.
The second stop will be at the newly-planted Wabash Prairie Garden on the corner of Milligan Street and Russell Avenue by the college tennis courts.
Participants will hear from Wabash Professor and Community Grower Amanda Ingram about the project and the process for growing a garden of native perennials from scratch. Native wildflowers and grasses help support the wide variety of pollinators needed to help gardens flourish.
Immediately following the tour, the Table Spoon will open for refreshments from noon to 1:30 p.m. to keep the conversations and ideas flowing. The Community Growers will have soil health demonstrations, handouts, cover crop seeds, and will be available to answer gardening questions throughout the tour.