Partners Plant Community Garden

posted 6/24/21 -- A mix of partnerships and ingenuity is bringing fresh produce to South Elyria.

LCCAA has partnered with Our F.A.M.I.L.Y and the Elyria Public Library to create a community garden next to the library branch at 340 15th St. Our F.A.M.I.L.Y. brought in Hope for Futures to build the garden beds using a unique system.

Hope for Futures uses volunteer labor to build raised beds which they then fill with Garden Soxx, mesh tubes of compost in which the seeds are planted. This allows the produce to grow above the soil rather than in it. Many urban environments have contaminants in their soils which would leech into the produce, Alex Marks, executive director of Hope for Futures explained to The Morning Journal.

Volunteers from the United Way of Greater Lorain County and Avient (formerly PolyOne) built and planted at the garden site last week. The following plants will soon be sprouting: bok choy, lettuce, cucumbers, spinach, tomatoes, collard greens, beans, okra, squash, zucchini and peppers.

The Soxx also have irrigation tubes threaded through them which will be connected to the library’s outdoor spigot on a timer.

Later this year, hoop houses will be installed to cover the raised beds allowing the growing season to be extended to include cooler weather vegetables such as kale, spinach, beets and radishes.

Our F.A.M.I.L.Y. is working with LCCAA Head Start Nutrition and Health Manager Rebecca Rodriguez on outreach programs involving the produce including healthy recipes. Garden plots will not be available to the public (as previously announced) but all programs will be open to all, Rodriguez said.

This project is funded by the 2020 CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Stimulus) Act’s allocation to LCCAA’s Community Services Block Grant.