Goshen Green Garden: Food for Gardeners and the Community
On a lovely September morning, there was still some action at the Goshen Green Garden (GGG) the community garden across from the fairgrounds in Goshen. Clelia Vanasse explained. “We have put our garden to bed, but there are still things to do.” She and her husband Rich have been tending their plot for four years, and though the season is wrapping up, she is still snipping herbs and veggies to bring home and cook up. They are among the dozens of members, who not only provide food for themselves, but also for the community.
Clelia and Rich have a shady home at Woodridge Lake, where they have been coming for years. But when they moved here full time Clelia’s gardening passion made keen to join the GGG. They enjoyed being in the community growing veg and comparing notes with fellow gardeners. Their plot provided them with such abundance, they were able to share the bounty with family and friends. They love the mission of the garden which is to provide land for local people to garden, as well as to give back to the community.
Lynn tells the story of how the garden got started, spearheaded by the pastor at United Church of Goshen in 2014. “He had the vision for a community garden, but the church property was not suitable. One day I was talking with Rick Wadhams, of the Goshen Agricultural Society, and asked if there was a possibility of having the garden there. We were soon given a quarter acre of their property to work.” This was the start they needed.
The idea of the garden took off. With priority given to church members, then Goshen residents, the plots were never untended. The garden also has had four plots called “The Garden of Feedin” for providing to those in need. Weekly, donations are given to the food pantry in Goshen, as well as the Helping Hands and FISH in Torrington. Lynn recalls a year when that donation exceeded 900 pounds of food.
Besides the great feeling members have sharing the food, another thing Lynn has loved about the project has been helping people learn how to grow. The GGG also has a seed starting workshop in the spring, and an article in the Goshen Town Topics every quarter on gardening. She has seen new gardeners experience the joy of growing kale, then going on to be mentors for other gardeners.
All ages, all levels of experience, are all welcomed. Lynn says there is usually a wait list, which is only a year or less, but that it always works out. If you want to garden right away you can volunteer in The Garden of Eatin’, planting, tending and harvesting. Other tasks pop up: fixing the fences (originally installed by prison inmates in a program called Alternate Incarceration) and painting the picnic tables donated by a local patron are on the list right now.
There are stipulations. All gardening is organic. No chemicals, no deep tilling. They have community work days to provide upkeep at the beginning and end of the season.
Though there have been minor setbacks along the line, Lynn reiterates that she is abundantly grateful for the community support the project has continually received. When they needed power, the GAC got it to the garden: ditto water. Local volunteers and donations have provided mowing, manure for compost, woodchips for mulch as well as nursery plants for the Garden of Eatin. She says when they have asked for help they have received, a lovely tribute to the greater Goshen community.
Those interested in getting involved should email ecolynn@gmail.com. “Putting the Garden to Bed”, is a work day open to all, starting on Saturday October 21 at 9am. All are welcomed.
