Ken has been a Garden Leader with Springfield Community Gardens since the East Stanford/Oak Grove Neighborhood Garden’s opening in 2015.
How it works: This garden is part of SCG and is sponsored by Schweitzer United Methodist Church. Neighborhood residents pay $5 plot rentals for 4’x12’ plots. Gardeners keep all the produce they produce (one plot has grown as much as 245 pounds in a single growing season!).
Gardeners are expected to keep their plots tidy and are encouraged to get creative with produce choices and infrastructure (check out some of the solutions gardeners have found for vines!). There are no scheduled workdays – plot holders come when it’s convenient for them to maintain and harvest from their plots.
Ken’s favorites things about being a garden leader are:
Meeting new people. Many Burmese refugees and African immigrants in the neighborhood rent plots and enjoy growing staples from their countries, like bitter melon, roselle, and pumpkin leaves.
Learning from others – new recipes and produce options (did you know peanuts grow well in Missouri? Producers here do!), and growing techniques. Ken is from a family of gardeners and has taken master gardener classes through the MU Extension Office but still learns from others every growing season!
Building neighborhood connections. With 70 plots rented out, there’s always a producer out in the garden
Ken’s advice for new gardeners: “To be successful, get help, start slow, don’t do more than you can handle, and don’t be afraid to try new things.” Stop by the garden at 2710 E. Stanford in Springfield or visit springfieldcommunitygardens.org for volunteer opportunities.