LIVING SUSTAINABLY: Six things to know about the coziest garden in Holland
By Savannah Weaver, Community Garden Director
Hollanders know that Windmill Island
Growing our own vegetables is a significantly sustainable practice. It gets our hands in the soil and connects us with Earth. Community gardens make efficient use of space, provide access to a low-cost, sustainably-produced source of healthy food, and decrease reliance on commercially-grown produce that might have a large carbon footprint and could be sending money out of the community.
Here are six things to know about Holland’s own community garden:
2. We put the “community” in “community garden.” The name of the garden, de
3. We’re affordable. The cost of supplies can often seem daunting to would-be gardeners. De Gezellige Tuin removes this barrier by providing community tools and equipment. We also offer our participants free starter plants and seeds of some of the most popular vegetables to grow in our region. The fee for participation is only $30, with financial assistance available to those in need.
4. Location, location, location. Windmill Island’s famous tulip fields look stunning in the spring but used to lay fallow after the tulips finished blooming. Now our community garden makes use of that otherwise unused space. The result? An efficient use of land, and a vegetable garden with fertile, well-maintained soil flanked by beautiful landscapes and the iconic de Zwaan Windmill.
5. We’re all in this together. De Gezellige Tuin is
6. Space is limited; sign up now. Just 36 garden plots are available, and the first class is April 29, so sign up soon. To learn more about de Gezellige Tuin or apply for a plot for the 2017 season, email Savannah Weaver at greenhouse@cityofholland.com, or call (616) 355-1032.
Savannah Weaver is director of the de Gezellige Tuin community garden program.
IMAGES: Courtesy of Savannah Weaver.
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