WORTHINGTON — Nobles County Master Gardener volunteers are collaborating with Prairie Rehab and Fitness in Worthington to start a new project. A giving garden has been established behind the Prairie Rehab facility, with all of the produce grown there donated to local food shelves.
It all started when my husband, Kyle Raverty, who works at Prairie Rehab, talked about his wife being a master gardener volunteer who was looking for a way to start a community garden in Worthington. Creating a food garden in my community was the main reason I signed up to be a master gardener and took the core course in 2022.
Troy VanOrman, who owns the Worthington business, heard this and reached out about collaborating with the master gardeners of Nobles County on this project. We met in April to discuss, and Troy generously offered us the space, a water source, and the tools needed to take out the sod and till up some garden beds.
We put in four 10- by 10-foot plots. Troy is maintaining two and the master gardeners are maintaining two. We have been lucky with timely rains this season, but in the case of a dry spell, Troy will turn the sprinkler on when he gets to work in the morning to make sure the plants are getting a good drink.
Kyle is a big help as well. From cutting the sod and tilling the soil to lifting our personal lawn mower over the fence to cut the grass in the garden space, I appreciate his willingness to help make this vegetable garden project a success!
One of our master gardeners was able to donate kohlrabi and cabbage plants from a local nursery she works for. Another was able to get seeds donated by the Minnesota State Horticulture Society. We also had one of our gardeners plant some flower seeds that she harvested from her personal garden last year. Keeping the cost of the project low makes it easier to get started.
We really appreciate what Troy at Prairie has done to make this project possible. We have been able to donate to the Manna Food Pantry and the Worthington Christian Church Food Shelf. Kohlrabi, cabbage and cilantro have been dropped off so far, with tomatoes, peppers, green beans, onions, cucumbers and more cabbage coming soon.
If all goes well this year, we hope to expand the project next year. We are working on raising money for some improvements to the giving garden project. If you would like to donate to help us improve this project you can make a donation at
https://z.umn.edu/foodgarden-NoblesCo-MG
Building local food systems and contributing to the needs of your community is important work.
We hope this project is a success for years to come!