Grow This!
Doddridge County West Virginia April 11, 2017
There is a new program out called Grow This West Virginia and here is their Facebook link. Their goal is to challenge West Virginians to grow lettuce in the spring, cucumbers in the summer and kale in the fall. They have an additional challenge for kids in school to grow pumpkins in the summer. They even have a Kiosk design in the works to promote their efforts with a total annual budget of $32,600 (taken from their brochure which was sent to all Master Gardeners).
Here is my Harrison County Master Gardeners Kiosk
for Grow This Clarksburg West Virginia Community Garden. It cost me nothing and it is made of steel; I salvaged it from the scrap metal pile (it was an old Western Union Kiosk)
Garden To-Go
FRESH, LOCAL AND....MOBILE!
GARDENING INNOVATION ON YOUR DOORSTEP. LITERALLY.
Garden To-Go was started by Create WV board director, architect and inventor Thom Worlledge, and Advisory Board member, industrial designer and former restaurant owner Das Menon. They wanted to provide an easy way for people of all ages and abilities to grow healthy, fresh produce at home, safely, and without the need to construct planting beds. The concept is simple. Ready to go, compact, self-watering vegetable gardens that are distributed on a seasonal basis and returned to a central facility for replanting.
Franklin Farms owner David Franklin will be holding a plant your garden to go workshop at the Harrison County Senior Citizen Center. Working in conjunction with the Harrison County Master Gardeners Seeds To Go program. Which you may recall was very successful in 2016 at local area libraries. Franklin will also be working in conjunction with the Compost Department from the City of Clarksburg, WV for gathering garden waste at the end of the harvest season which is processed into compost. The City of Clarksburg's central facility processes the compost that will be used to fill the planters for the next season. It is a self-sustaining, closed loop organic gardening system.
Garden To-Go, in technical terms, is a distributed community garden, but you can also call it a container garden. The planters are perfect for backyards, balconies, sun rooms and porches. David loves the idea of reintroducing home gardening to people who think they don't have the energy, room or resources to do it, but this time, through the use of a simple organic gardening system. It will not feed an entire family but it will provide access to fresh produce and reconnect us to where our food comes from.
The Gardens To Go program was piloted in Charleston, WV with a small church group, then applied for a micro grant of $2,500 from Try This West Virginia to expand into schools, senior centers, businesses. The program is available to apartment dwellers and other small groups.
The one-time investment for the planter and compost bucket is $65. It will cost $10 to replenish the planters each season. We meet three times per year to plant together. If you are in the Clarksburg or Salem area of Harrison County West Virginia and are interested in starting a Garden To-Go community garden, contact David Franklin at TDavidFranklin@gmail.com
