Windham Community Garden is ready to help - By Harrison Wood

Could this be the summer when vegetables are either unavailable or too expensive to buy? A lot of citizens are in a position to know that because of the droughts ravaging not only California and Arizona, but the prime growing areas in South America as well this could be the year that some are forced to go without.

Availability is one thing, cost is going to be the other deciding factor. But you don't need to be caught off guard agrees community garden founders Marge Govoni and Paul Tringali along with several others agree that with a little planning you can put yourself in a position to not only have a plentiful supply of fresh vegetables for your table, but also enough to either put away for the winter, or to simply share your bounty with friends and family. 

The community garden board of directors, a volunteer group of Windham overseers, who meet in planning sessions each and every month to prepare for not only the survival of the garden as a whole, but to prepare for the garden season ahead, have taken this possible loss into their preparation for the coming season. How you ask? By not only expanding and opening up new plots, they are also in preparation to teach and guide new comers. 

“We want this to be enjoyable,” has been shared by everyone waiting to help.

What the community garden offers is a place for the citizens of Windham for a small yearly fee that covers the cost of not only the space, but an ample supply of a locally-prepared seaside compost. This compost goes a long way to not only improving the soil structure, it also helps with some of the nutritional demands of the vegetables. Each plot measures ten by twenty feet.

The town of Windham has also stepped up by not only providing the land but also a water source. The plumbing of over several hundreds of feet was done by volunteers. So you can see for a small investment you can not only have a safe sunny place to grow your vegetables but if the dry weather should work its way east, the Windham community garden is prepared. 

All the gardeners are encouraged to remember that this community garden is an organic garden, which means that no harmful pesticides can be used. Does this mean that you are at the mercy of the insects? No, with a little training and support the garden elders are ready to teach you how to have a bountiful harvest without a coating of dangerous pesticides. 

How do I get one of these plots you ask, it's simple. You can go online to the Windham Community Garden Website, http://www.windhamcommunitygarden.org and download and print and application form and mail it to the address listed along with the requested fee. 

Don't get caught without, grow your own!