Joelle Thompson
It’s spring, and Fairfax County is awash with colors. Farmers’ markets are opening up, and many people are starting to plant in their gardens, maybe for the first time in their lives. What happens when you don’t have space to garden at home?
Joelle Thompson grew up in a family that gardened, but she took that for granted when she was young. Now she lives in a condo in Reston. Thompson doesn’t have the space to garden at her home. A few years back, she and two other teachers signed up for a garden plot at one of Reston’s community gardens. They had to wait a year, but eventually ended up with a nice-sized plot.
“We figured we were all in education, we could share it and kind of share the responsibilities,” said Thompson.
Joelle Thompson
That worked well until last year, when the other teachers decided not to return. Thompson decided to continue on by herself. Thompson’s plot is at Reston’s largest community garden, Golf Course Island, a neighborhood off North Shore Drive. Plots for gardeners in Reston start at $45 for a small space. The cost increases incrementally with plot size. The most someone would pay is to $275 for spaces over 600 square feet. Thompson’s garden size is right in the middle.
That fee covers the entire growing season. Water at Golf Course Island is turned on in April, so this is the time of year when Thompson starts
prepping her garden. At this point in the year, gardening only takes a couple of hours per week. The time commitment increases over the summer.
“I did three hours on Saturday. I’ll probably do three to four hours a week to kind of get things set up and watered. Maybe a little bit more as more things go in the ground,” said Thompson. “It’s still a little cold for some things.”
Thompson will start some of her seedlings at home, where she can keep an eye on them. She does not expect to be able to harvest anything until June at the earliest. Her very first harvest from the plot was radishes. They planted them in April. When her birthday rolled around in early June, she remembers having a radish to celebrate.
“I don’t even like radishes,” said Thompson. “It proved I could grow something.”
If you are looking for basic tips on where to start, go to https:// fairfaxgardening.org, the website of the Fairfax County Master Gardeners. There, you will find a host of articles and tips. Another idea is to call your local nursery.
Joelle Thompson
“Fertilize it and add new soil,” said Ed Bailey, a manager at Meadow Farms Nurseries and Landscapes Annandale, when asked what anyone can do to get plants to bloom to their fullest. “Most people that have gardens don’t add extra soil and they forget to fertilize,” he added.
Thompson also had tips to keep the costs down for any garden. If you are renting a plot, you can go in with others to get a larger plot than you could afford on your own. Another way Thompson keeps her costs down is with tools. She finds most of hers at estate sales and her local Buy Nothing group. The teachers inherited a few tools with the plot, but Thompson said that, at most, she has purchased only a shovel and a rake.
When it comes to seeds, there are several ways to save money. Thompson was lucky. Her brother, who lives in Nashville, Tenn., gave her some
heirloom seeds. These are seeds that have not been genetically modified and have been passed down, usually for several generations. Thompson continues to harvest seeds from her garden, too.
There are other ways to find inexpensive seeds if you don’t know other gardeners. Some libraries have seed collections that you can use. Another suggestion Thompson had is seed and plant swaps. She has gone and just picked up seeds to try without bringing something to trade.
“It’s a lot more economical than people are going to think that it is,” said Thompson. “I think you can get into all the big fancy stuff, but you know dirt is dirty. It doesn’t have to look pretty to grow.”
Comments are closed.