Mooresville Community Garden Gives Gardeners More than Land

As a Junior majoring in Dietetics at Marian College, Amanda Armstrong would have never guessed that her college paper outlining a grant proposal for a community garden would go much beyond the good grade and class credit she received for it. But eight years later, she would find herself revisiting that topic and creating a community garden in Mooresville.

One day last January as Amanda looked at the great expanse of lawn surrounding her church, she felt it could be put to better use than " just growing grass". She thought the land would make a great community garden and approached the Trustees who enthusiastically supported her plan. Less than 90 days later she was taking applications for plots from prospective gardeners for the First United Methodist Church's Community Garden.

This year is the second season for the garden and everyone from the former year has returned in addition to a few new folks. Some of the returning gardeners have taken two plots and are looking forward to another great growing year. Bea Lewis says the gardens are a "true blessing" for her. She was thinking about putting some raised beds in her own yard when she saw the sign for the gardens and knew immediately that this was a perfect solution to her needs. In 2007 she grew heirloom tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, lemon cucumbers, and watermelons. Over the winter she and her family enjoyed her peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chili sauce. "I love it! It's the best thing this community has ever done for us! It gives me a place to go to each day where I can enjoy working in my garden and making new friends.", she told me last week. Bea can hardly wait to put her plants and seeds in this year. Her enthusiasm is shared by her grandson who told her recently that he is "dying for one of her fresh tomatoes".

Pam Taber grew up with a big garden tended by her parents but at her current home she doesn't have the yard space for one. When she saw the sign for the community garden, she jumped at the chance to grow her own fresh produce for her family of four. Last year she grew tomatoes, zucchini, beets, spinach, yellow squash, and peppers. She's very excited to be taking on two plots this year.

Arlen Armstrong, Amanda's father-in-law, praises the "community feel" of the gardens and says that he enjoys being around his fellow gardeners as they share conversations while working their plots. Arlen needed a place to grow tomatoes including his much prized "Rose of England", a variety which has been grown by his family for over 100 years. He also grew sweet potatoes last year, most of which he donated to the local food pantry, Churches in Mission, where each week all the gardeners donate part of their harvest.

Amanda is reluctant to take too much credit for creating this successful venture, crediting instead the generosity of the church Trustees and the hard work and enthusiasm of the gardeners themselves. But those I spoke with say that she deserves the lion's share of the praise for this new community gathering place. She had a dream and worked hard to make that dream come true for everyone who now takes great delight in the quickly advancing gardening season where they will come together once again to tend to their crops, share their harvest, and enjoy each other's fellowship.

Congratulations to Amanda whose vision, hard work, and generosity contributed to making this beautiful community garden possible in Mooresville!

Photo: Courtesy of Amanda Armstrong