Absent such major events precipitating a lot of turnover, prospective new users must be patient, submitting an application form available on the website at www.gardensfornutrition.org and hoping for a vacancy. “It’s never too late to start,” says Uhlenbrock. “There are always people who can’t keep up their commitment and give up their plots during the season, making room for some people on the waiting list.”
There was some concern following Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee that the soil might have been contaminated by the stormwater. “After the floods, we sent samples to one of the best labs in the US,” Gocha recounts. “They were tested for heavy metals, petroleum products, all sorts of contaminants, and came back with a clean bill of health.” The water from the Wallkill that is pumped into a distribution system with spigots strategically placed among the plots is also tested regularly by the neighboring sewage treatment plant, and is consistently deemed healthy enough for organic gardening.
On some summer days the odors downwind of the plant can be a bit daunting; but Gocha and Rosales seem very pleased with their current plot that became available after the upheaval of the storms, situated closer to the compost pile than their first location. “This is ideal right here,” says Gocha. “It’s such a nice view. You can’t beat it.” Jo Gangem seems content as well with her spot nearer to the entrance from Huguenot Street. “It’s sweet,” she says. “It’s like a little homestead.”
On the day in early May when this correspondent visited, the youngest laborer in the Gardens was 4 ½-year-old J. J. Ruhe, who was helping his “Nana,” New Paltz Garden Club President Shelly Ottens, with her planting and weeding. “I grow spinach. I planted 37 peas. I like to grow all these,” says J. J., proudly pointing to the rows. He claims to like to eat all the vegetables that he grows as well – especially broccoli and cauliflower, which he says “looks like a cumulus cloud.” This wannabe organic farmer also informed me that Santa’s favorite tool was a “hoe-hoe-hoe.”
As that perfect spring day drew to a close, Nana Ottens packed up her gear, and J. J. sang as he pushed her garden cart along all by himself: “One little, two little, three little daffodils…” It would appear that the longest-running community gardens in New York State have an even-longer and brighter future ahead. ●
