Garden Plots Available
| Tioga County has two community garden sites available in Owego and
Waverly, where you can grow your own vegetables, herbs or flowers at no
or very little cost.
The fee for the entire growing season ranges from nothing at all to $10, based on what you feel you can afford. The fee goes toward buying mulch, compost and supplies for the garden. Even the maximum of $10 is very little when you consider what you get at no extra cost. Any tool that you may need is supplied, fertilizer and compost is supplied, and the land is supplied. On top of that, seeds are supplied. Each year Susannah Reese, the Tioga County Master Gardener program manager, receives a grant of seeds from the America the Beautiful Fund. The seeds‹which usually include varieties of lettuce, corn, carrots, radishes and squash‹are free to use by anyone with a plot in the Community Gardens. In addition, tomato and cabbage plants may be supplied. But this depends on whether or not Susannah has good results starting plants in her office at Cornell Cooperative Extension or local growers donate plants. You don't even have to know how to garden to get started. Just get your plot and the Tioga County Master Gardeners will show you how to plan, plant and maintain your garden. They also provide free gardening classes, covering everything from the basics to advanced techniques, at the two community gardens throughout the season. The Waverly Community Garden is behind the Tioga Nursing Facility and is accessible by Ball Street, and the Owego Community Garden is behind the Open Door Mission on North Avenue. Susannah says, "Gardening is a fun and relaxing hobby that feeds the soul as well as the body." To sign up for a plot or get more information, call her at 687-4020. |
The Community Press
a free newspaper, published monthly
serving the Tioga County, New York, area
Copyright 2003 Brown Enterprise and Marketing