Growing Vegetables and Friendships at the Community Garden

By: Kate Stone

The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes gardening as “the act, activity, or pastime of planning and cultivating gardens.” For the students and community members found at Auburn University’s Community Garden, gardening has a much deeper meaning.

Auburn’s Campus Dining Administrative Support Specialist, Gwen Ward, goes into detail to give readers a glimpse of the history of the garden, what to expect during the fall season, and the community found here.

The Community Garden has been here for a long time, and is older than most Auburn University students.

“The Community Garden was founded in the 1960s by the Alpha Zeta agricultural fraternity. At first, only Auburn University faculty, staff and students were allowed to participate. In 2015, as the Auburn Real Food Challenge disbanded, the Academic Sustainability Program took over management of the garden. A year later (2016) the Campus Dining Office assumed responsibility for the Community Garden, and continues garden administration today,” Ward said.

When asked about typical plants and vegetables grown in the fall at the Community Garden, Ward said they have seen many varieties of peppers, sugar snap peas, okra, eggplant, squash, green beans, radishes, mustard greens, kale, and turnips.

Ward said vegetables are not all the garden has to offer. One gardener planted a variety of flowers and brought a portable chair to sit among them. There have also been plots rented by international students who have planted vegetables from their country.

“There's no limit to what people can grow in their personal plots,” Ward said.

According to Ward, the goal of the Community Garden is to build a relationship between the university and community. The garden provides local produce to community partners, creates a solution to hunger, and promotes sustainable agriculture practices through education. However, Ward said this is just the “textbook definition” of a garden.

With many members of the community participating in the garden, Ward describes her own description of how she perceives the garden.

“Your personal garden away from home. It's an open-air garden where students and members of the local community can rent plots to grow plants of their choice and exchange gardening tips and strategies,” she said.

Many gardeners have rented plots for a number of years and developed close relationships with one another. Gardening combines outdoor physical activity with time spent in fresh air and sunlight. As a result, there is often friendly social interaction involved.

“That has to be a recipe for a healthy hobby,” Ward said

Previously, the Community Garden had a general manager who set aside "donation plots" or "Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)" plots.

"The CSA plots were harvested and the produce was delivered to customers who bought a subscription to the CSA. Fresh-picked vegetables, herbs, even flowers, were delivered weekly during the 8-week growing and harvesting period,” she said.

In the donation plots, they grew peppers, greens, carrots, eggplant, squash, beans, kale turnips, radishes, etc.. Later, these were donated to the Auburn University Campus Kitchen, East Alabama Food Bank, and Auburn’s on-campus food pantry. The donation plots provided fresh vegetables to the food insecure in our local community.

"During the 2021 calendar year, over 1400 pounds of fresh vegetables were donated to these entities from the Community Garden,” Ward said.

A lot of activity is expected in the garden this time of year. With the weather cooling down in the fall, the Community Garden becomes a place of fellowship and learning.

“While some gardeners are retirees, many are working families who maintain their plots weekdays before and after work (when it's cooler) and during weekends. It's not uncommon to see entire families tending their plots,” Ward said.

Interested in renting a plot to start your gardening experience? No matter the age or the expertise, the Community Garden is welcoming to all. Click on this link to learn more information.

http://campusdining.auburn.edu/about-the-garden/plot-rentals/plot-rentals/