The history of the Harding community garden is as bumpy as the ground it started on, though hopefully not quite as dense. Over the past four years, students have struggled against barren soil, the absence of functioning tools, their abject ignorance of how things are grown and, of course, unimportant distractions that took up all their time (like getting good grades and graduating) — all to produce the garden you see now. Which is, well, a bare spot of ground. It is sad but true. Right now there is nothing growing there.
In the spring of 2009, a group of students involved in HUmanity received permission from the Harding administration to build a garden on a small plot of land located on Park Avenue, across from Harding Academy. It had previously been the site of a dormitory, which may give you an idea of the quality of the soil. However, the plot came with a shed and a spigot for water, so it would be hard to ask for more.
Upon hearing that this group of students was leasing small plots in the garden for $20, I convinced two of my roommates to rent a plot with me. If we had known anything at all about gardening, we would have known that failure was inevitable the moment we aimed the first shovel at the ground. It is best if there is something other than just clay in the soil. But we dug down deep anyway, creating raised beds and sunken walkways. The end result was that the raised beds baked until they were almost as hard as your ceramic coffee mug, and the walkways filled with water and never, ever drained. We thought about growing rice in the walkways.
Plots were not leased the next two years because nearly all of them had failed in a similarly dramatic fashion. Instead, activity centered on one corner of the garden that had been inundated with compost and cow manure, and which consequently had better soil. Some decent growth occurred there, but once everyone left for the summer, all of the tomatoes went to waste, and all of the weeds bolted and went to seed. When those of us who had tended the plot returned in the fall, it looked terrible.
Last year, we tried to clean up our act. We pulled up all the weeds and dug new beds that were evenly spaced and ran in the same direction. We tore down the old compost bins, which were fashioned with chicken wire and rickety boards lashed together, and replaced them with compost bins made from pallets from Lowe’s, which are sturdier and look somewhat better than tangled chicken wire. We poured more compost and manure on the soil and began a new batch of compost with food scraps from the cafeteria and leaves from Physical Resources.
We also wrote a constitution to form an official student organization to maintain the garden, and we renamed the garden “Harding Farm: A Community Project” to underscore the garden’s dual role in producing food and engaging the communities of Searcy. Unfortunately, by the time we finished writing the constitution, there were more officers listed in the constitution than there were people who were still involved in the garden. Nearly everyone (including myself) had graduated.
The constitution and the student organization we tried to form can either be taken or left, depending on whether it seems helpful to those who decide to make the garden their own, but what the garden really needs right now is people. The ground is ready for planting. There is a pile of dark, rich compost that needs only to be spread to make things grow. There is an OK collection of tools in the shed, and there is water available at the twist of a knob. There is even a constitution that would allow you, if you wish, to list “Garden Coordinator” on your resume. All that is needed is you.
If you do decide to get involved, there is no need to wait for the spring semester to get started. Fall is a wonderful time to grow things. Broccoli, spinach, lettuce, turnip greens, carrots and even some kinds of flowers all grow well in the fall. If you want to live a more sustainable life in the midst of God’s creation, growing good food in a garden on a cool, sunny fall day is a pleasant way to do it.
Contact Meagan McLain at mmclain@harding.edu for more information on how to become a part of the Harding community garden.
