More volunteers needed at Community Garden

Posted: Saturday, August 15, 2009 12:00 am | Updated: 5:13 pm, Tue Sep 15, 2009.

Peter Adelsen Staff Writer | 0 comments

In operation since 2003, the Community Garden at the corner of North Street and Touby Pike has helped many local non-profit organizations with its giving of produce.

Since its founding, the Community Garden has harvested more than 88,000 pounds of produce, said Cindy Rush of the Purdue Extension Office. So far this year, the garden has harvested 495 pounds of produce. Last year it harvested 15,989.75 pounds.

The garden is run completely on donations and volunteers, she said.

"If someone wanted to work you don't have to know anything about gardening," she said. "We teach you how to do it here."

Everyone is invited to volunteer at the garden. There is a need for people to weigh produce and deliver the produce to the organizations, she said.

The garden donates its food to many organizations, such as Favors, Fresh Start Ministries, Kokomo Rescue Mission and Open Arm's Women's Shelter.

So far this year, the weather has not been helpful to the garden, she said.

"In the spring it was so wet, we couldn't get everything planted in the ground until May and June," she said. "Now, we desperately need rain at the garden. A lot of plants are drying up."

The garden is open every Monday and Thursday weather permitting from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Thursday evenings, as requested. In the event of rain, there is an e-mail list that volunteers can sign up for telling if the garden would be open on that day, she said.

The Community Garden is a partnership between Ivy Tech Community College, Howard County Master Gardeners and Purdue Extension Office of Howard County.

http://kokomoperspective.com/news/local_news/article_f3da2218-0a44-57fe-b73a-b8acca91eb53.html