Experiencing the Bay Village Community Garden

As a new member of the Bay Village Community Garden, I was glad to meet friendly and helpful villagers this summer who shared seeds, garden advice, ideas, suggestions and camaraderie. The garden fee was very reasonable at $40 per plot. For that amount, I was given soil, compost, mulch, and water which was made available for each gardener.

I was so happy with my experience that I almost bought another space when the beds were reduced to $20 at mid-season! However, since I have a significant amount of work at my home perennial and annual flower beds, I decided to keep a single plot.

Speaking of flowers, you can find them in the Bay Community Garden and they really help make the overall appearance beautiful. The deer fence that surrounds the entire garden on Wolf Road has been softened by lovely sunflowers and lavender plants. They are part of larger group areas that include a pumpkin patch and butterfly garden. In addition to maintaining one’s own spot, gardeners are asked to help upkeep the community areas, too. Weeding and cutting grass around the pumpkin patch was part of my responsibility.

After learning about permaculture principles (derived from observing nature), my own space featured mound plantings like the Native Americans used. I had a corn stalk in the center, legumes to climb the stalk, and zucchini at the outer base to retain the soil and moisture.

The snap peas and zucchini worked out fine but the corn stalks died. The cucumbers, lettuce, and tomatoes tasted great but my strawberry yield was tiny. There is always next year! I have been inspired by the raised bed plots which were contained in wood and planted with a grid method to fill every inch. I think that I will try that next season. After all, gardening is about experimenting and learning.

About the Bay Community Garden: The Community Garden was established in 2010, and is run by a group of volunteers through the Bay Village Green Team. There are currently 105 plots in use, including plots that are rented by families to grow fresh herbs and produce for their tables and those that are being farmed by charitable organizations, benefiting those in need.