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Downtown Community Garden
Update from 02/10/2010
It's hard to believe that garden season is so close already! Whew! It feels like we just harvested the last cherry tomatoes and prepared the beds for winter. For those of you that I haven't spoken to, I'm Allison, the coordinator for the Downtown Community Garden on Fort Street.
I will be out of the country beginning March 1- May 1 and would love to meet with folks who are interested in participating in the garden this coming season before I go. Are you interested and available to meet on Saturday, February 20th?
Last year I judged our success simply on becoming established, planting beds for the first time around, meeting many amazing folks from our Boise community, and reaping a delicious harvest! Going into our second year, the garden is ready to step it up a notch! The possibilities are endless!
Let's share ideas, suggestions, and constructive critiques. All are welcome- Whether you're an expert green thumb, or someone who's never planted a seed before Come to meet other gardeners and to get excited for the coming season! What do you want to plant? What would you like to see change at the garden? Worries, concerns? What did you love about the community garden last year?
See you soon!
Allison Demarest
8665397
 Allison's Summer 2009 update - click here
The Boise Downtown Garden is located on a wonderful almost-acre on Fort Street between 11th and 12th in the Northend. The site has quite a history and belongs to the Cathedral of the Rockies, who have lent it out to be the Boise Downtown Garden for the time being. At this garden, all people will work to maintain the same space in a style a young women named Allison has taken to calling 'unified gardening'. The garden is the deamchild of Allison who came to Boise and used her previous life experiences to plant the idea and make it grow.
After Allison's sophmore year at the University of Puget Sound she "was able to spend some in South Africa with some amazing people (www.smallvillagefoundation.org). Upon returning, just a bit later than expected (3 weeks or so) she decided finishing school wasn't right for the moment. For the following year she got to live in a place called Camphill Village in upstate NY-- a community of about 200 people (some with special needs) who are devoted to farming, self sufficiency, and healing the earth. Living in Camphill was exactly that- special. In NY she experienced community like never before. An entire Village working together to create- such an inspiring thing to behold."
 Visit the Boise Downtown Garden website by clicking here
Frequently Asked Questions
Won't it take a lot of people to take care of an acre?
It will indeed. In the Downtown Garden the community that we grow is just as important as the vegetables and flowers that we work so hard to produce. And the community that we create will be colorful just like our flowers! We will be a diverse group of people made up of residents of the Northend, students from nearby schools, BSU service learning students, refugees from around the world, and many more!
And, how much does it cost?
At Boise's Downtown Community Garden, no one pays! However gardeners who would like to receive fresh veggies will have to commit to working a certain number of hours per week in the garden (probably between 3 and 5).
What about all those vegetables?
The majority of our vegetables will go right back to the gardeners who have worked so hard to nurture and help them grow. A system based on hours worked and need will determine how many vegetables each gardener/ family gets to bring home. Other vegetables will support the "Friendship Feast" program that works to feed hungry people at several area churches, as well as the similar "Come to the Banquet" program at St. Michael's Cathedral.
But I don't really like to get dirty...
That's okay! You can support the garden in just about any way. Have an extra tool laying in the backyard? We'll take it! Extra top soil from your recent project? Call us to come pick it up. We know that the people of Boise are special folks with a lot to offer. Are you an artist? Come paint for us! Love organizing? We have loads of paper work.
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