Garden Tour

Thursday, April 16
Garden Tour

Instructor: Dr. Holben, Patty
Location: Athens Community Garden



It was really a nice day. Maria, Yang and I arrived the Athens Community Garden at about 12:15pm. Yang and I met a very nice lady-Mary Smith. She was gardening there and told us lots about gardening vegetables. We recognized strawberry, green garlic, and learned how to eat rhubarb--a kind of fruit we have never heard of before. The picture above is rhubarb.

At about 12:30pm, everybody arrived and Dr. Holben began to introduce the garden. This garden is mainly sponsored by Community Food Initiatives (CFI)
Dr. Holben also introduced us lots of vegetables growing in the garden, showed the plot we are expected to finish our final project on, and assigned the land occupation of each group.

The purpose of this program, as Patty said, is to get more people garden themselves and growing their own foods. Patty was another important instructor that day. She was graduated from Ohio University last year from Environmental Biology. Now she is an assistant manager of community garden. All products growing in this garden are organic. Horse manure is used as fertilizer. Free tools for gardening are provided. The garden is divided into five zones and each zone has its independent water system. People come here to garden must obey some rules to ensure the healthy of vegetables. No smoking and washing hands beofore come are required. Only $35 for individual gardener, $50 for group, more than $100 for business. That is to say, individuals are encouraged to take this exciting experience. 10% of whole production is required to donate back to CFI. This is just a little rewarding to CFI to thank the opportunity it give us.

This program is meaningful because it not only help people experience the wonderful life, but also important for food security. All foods are organic, so people can eat safe and nutritious food by laboring themselves. Wow, a old Chinese saying come to me suddenly, "earn our own living by our own hands, we will be well-fed and well-clothed."(Mao Zedong, 1939). Classical philosophy of life will never go out of fashion. I really hope I could have a garden some day in future so that I could enjoy the happiness of gardening as well as feed myself well.