Ahwatukee Community Garden
featured in Inside Ahwatukee Magazine
In April 2014, we were featured in an article and photo spread in Inside Ahwatukee, a magazine sent by mail to everyone living in the 85044 zip code in the eastern 1/3 of Ahwatukee. The article sparked interest in our garden, bringing several new people to our garden get togethers. I enjoyed photographing and getting facts together for the piece.
This ended up being the last issue of Inside Ahwatukee, as the UK based parent company shut down all US magazines in May.
This ended up being the last issue of Inside Ahwatukee, as the UK based parent company shut down all US magazines in May.
In case you are unable to read the magazine article clearly, I have typed it out below in a larger font.
Going Green in Ahwatukee
by Kelly Athena
When I walked into the Ahwatukee Community Garden for the first time in September of 2013, I was happily surprised to see waist-high, bushy green plants, obviously thriving in the 100 degree-plus weather. I was also glad to meet Linda Rominger, one of our master gardeners. I liked Linda immediately because of her smile and her T-shirt slogan: "Tree Hugger, Dirt Lover." I knew I was in the right place.
I found out these plants were Egyptian Spinach, Jamaican Hibiscus, and basil, perfectly suited for full sun in the Phoenix summer. The unique spinach tastes delicious in salads, steamed, or stir fried. The hibiscus produces red flowers which are dried and made into "Red Zinger" tea. Linda and our second master gardener, Bob Korhely, answered questions and guided the small group. We trimmed some of the bushes back while letting some of them continue to flower to attract the pollinators (bees and butterflies), and go to seed so we could collect the seeds for next year. Linda showed me the tiny black spinach seeds in her palm. We don’t have a lease-a-plot program like some larger community gardens do. We work together in a common plot and share the abundance. That day I took home bags of hibiscus and spinach leaves which I used in smoothies for several days.
It all began when a group of Ahwatukee garden enthusiasts joined together in the spring of 2012 and formed the Ahwatukee Community Garden. They scouted out possible locations and secured one near the Ahwatukee Swim and Tennis Center at the northwest corner of 48th St. and Warner. They received generous donations of seeds, soil, garden box material, compost bins, and other supplies from local organizations and businesses. They began meeting on Sunday mornings and inviting the community to join in.
Ahwatukee Board of Management General Manager, Robert Blakesley, recently gave us the good news that we may expand our use of the homeowner association’s land adjacent to our current garden. A local Boy Scout, Brett Bell, plans to earn his Eagle Scout rank by building the garden boxes here.
Your food travels an average of 1600 miles to reach your dinner plate. How much gentler could we treat the earth if we got our food from down the street instead? Global problems sometimes have local solutions.
We learn in gardening that there is no waste in nature. Many of us took leaves home from our giant bok choy plant to steam and enjoy. When it began flowering, bees came to the garden and did their pollinating. We discovered the flowers are a great addition to a salad, tasting sharp and fresh. Next the remaining flowers morphed into long seed pods. We saved them in paper bags and let them dry until the seeds pop out, and then add them to our seed library. We cut up the rest of the plant and placed it in our compost bins, where it will turn into rich soil to nourish next year’s plants.
I think of gardening as another choice of how to interact with life. It gets us in touch with natural rhythms instead of the bright lights and hype of “retail therapy,” Americans’ favorite reaction to their stressed-out lives. Contrast gardening to our modern culture, which constantly prompts us to buy more stuff we don’t need. We don’t know who made the products, what kind of treatment the makers received, how many streams were polluted, how many toxic chemicals were released into the air, how much energy it took to ship them half way across the world to us, the trees and oil used in packaging—and we soon grow tired of it and toss it into the trash, forgetting it will take up space in a landfill for years to come.
At the community garden, we use coffee grounds from a local Starbucks, leftover fruit, vegetables, egg shells, shredded paper, plant trimmings, leaves, and lawn clippings in our five-stage compost binning. Grocery stores throw out 800 pounds of food every day. The average American tosses one-half pound of food per day, adding up to nearly 200 pounds per year. Americans, including farmers, wholesalers, grocery stores, restaurants, and families, throw out 40% of their food. That is equal to ten million acres of farmland plants and animals going to waste. Food makes up 18% of our landfills, and creates methane gasses which are 21 times more toxic than carbon dioxide. Yard trimmings make up 28% of our waste. Paper is the #1 landfill component. Americans compost only 2.5% of their food. You can see why learning to compost at our community garden is so important!
We take extra produce to a food pantry in Ahwatukee. The New Life Church, located at the northwest corner of Warner Elliot Loop and Equestrian Trail, opens their food pantry to the public every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 11:00 to noon. People line up early for the food. I talked to one of the women choosing produce. "We just can't quite stretch our money from paycheck to paycheck. This food helps us so much. Thank you!" she said. Food recipients may come once a week to the food pantry. A signature is all that is required--no ID or proof of income is necessary.
There are approximately 400 homeless families in the Kyrene School District, which includes all of Ahwatukee and parts of Chandler, Tempe, Guadalupe, and the Gila River Indian Community. Many stay in their cars or couch surf from one friend’s house to another as the parents struggle to find jobs. I brought purple and orange carrots, radishes, and other food to a homeless Ahwatukee family staying temporarily at a motel. The teenager said, "I've never eaten a radish." I said, "You’ve got to try one!" He bit into a radish and his eyes lit up. "Tastes kind of like cucumbers!" he said. He then proceeded to eat every last radish in the bag.
The community garden has a booth at the Farmer’s Market on the first Sunday of each month. The Farmer’s Market sets up shop year round, every Sunday from 9:00 – 1:00, using the same parking lot as the community garden. People sign up for our e-mail list there to receive news about upcoming events. Our two Master Gardeners answer questions.
Right now, the garden is bursting with organic, fresh-tasting tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, bok choy, spinach, arugula and peas. What you love is what you’re here for—that is that and nothing more! If you would love to garden, but don’t know how to manage the harsh soil and heat of Arizona, Ahwatukee Community Garden is your place! Come join us in saving the earth one seed at a time.
~Article by Kelly Athena featured in Inside Ahwatukee Magazine
See photos of our garden and activities here
I found out these plants were Egyptian Spinach, Jamaican Hibiscus, and basil, perfectly suited for full sun in the Phoenix summer. The unique spinach tastes delicious in salads, steamed, or stir fried. The hibiscus produces red flowers which are dried and made into "Red Zinger" tea. Linda and our second master gardener, Bob Korhely, answered questions and guided the small group. We trimmed some of the bushes back while letting some of them continue to flower to attract the pollinators (bees and butterflies), and go to seed so we could collect the seeds for next year. Linda showed me the tiny black spinach seeds in her palm. We don’t have a lease-a-plot program like some larger community gardens do. We work together in a common plot and share the abundance. That day I took home bags of hibiscus and spinach leaves which I used in smoothies for several days.
It all began when a group of Ahwatukee garden enthusiasts joined together in the spring of 2012 and formed the Ahwatukee Community Garden. They scouted out possible locations and secured one near the Ahwatukee Swim and Tennis Center at the northwest corner of 48th St. and Warner. They received generous donations of seeds, soil, garden box material, compost bins, and other supplies from local organizations and businesses. They began meeting on Sunday mornings and inviting the community to join in.
Ahwatukee Board of Management General Manager, Robert Blakesley, recently gave us the good news that we may expand our use of the homeowner association’s land adjacent to our current garden. A local Boy Scout, Brett Bell, plans to earn his Eagle Scout rank by building the garden boxes here.
Your food travels an average of 1600 miles to reach your dinner plate. How much gentler could we treat the earth if we got our food from down the street instead? Global problems sometimes have local solutions.
We learn in gardening that there is no waste in nature. Many of us took leaves home from our giant bok choy plant to steam and enjoy. When it began flowering, bees came to the garden and did their pollinating. We discovered the flowers are a great addition to a salad, tasting sharp and fresh. Next the remaining flowers morphed into long seed pods. We saved them in paper bags and let them dry until the seeds pop out, and then add them to our seed library. We cut up the rest of the plant and placed it in our compost bins, where it will turn into rich soil to nourish next year’s plants.
I think of gardening as another choice of how to interact with life. It gets us in touch with natural rhythms instead of the bright lights and hype of “retail therapy,” Americans’ favorite reaction to their stressed-out lives. Contrast gardening to our modern culture, which constantly prompts us to buy more stuff we don’t need. We don’t know who made the products, what kind of treatment the makers received, how many streams were polluted, how many toxic chemicals were released into the air, how much energy it took to ship them half way across the world to us, the trees and oil used in packaging—and we soon grow tired of it and toss it into the trash, forgetting it will take up space in a landfill for years to come.
At the community garden, we use coffee grounds from a local Starbucks, leftover fruit, vegetables, egg shells, shredded paper, plant trimmings, leaves, and lawn clippings in our five-stage compost binning. Grocery stores throw out 800 pounds of food every day. The average American tosses one-half pound of food per day, adding up to nearly 200 pounds per year. Americans, including farmers, wholesalers, grocery stores, restaurants, and families, throw out 40% of their food. That is equal to ten million acres of farmland plants and animals going to waste. Food makes up 18% of our landfills, and creates methane gasses which are 21 times more toxic than carbon dioxide. Yard trimmings make up 28% of our waste. Paper is the #1 landfill component. Americans compost only 2.5% of their food. You can see why learning to compost at our community garden is so important!
We take extra produce to a food pantry in Ahwatukee. The New Life Church, located at the northwest corner of Warner Elliot Loop and Equestrian Trail, opens their food pantry to the public every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 11:00 to noon. People line up early for the food. I talked to one of the women choosing produce. "We just can't quite stretch our money from paycheck to paycheck. This food helps us so much. Thank you!" she said. Food recipients may come once a week to the food pantry. A signature is all that is required--no ID or proof of income is necessary.
There are approximately 400 homeless families in the Kyrene School District, which includes all of Ahwatukee and parts of Chandler, Tempe, Guadalupe, and the Gila River Indian Community. Many stay in their cars or couch surf from one friend’s house to another as the parents struggle to find jobs. I brought purple and orange carrots, radishes, and other food to a homeless Ahwatukee family staying temporarily at a motel. The teenager said, "I've never eaten a radish." I said, "You’ve got to try one!" He bit into a radish and his eyes lit up. "Tastes kind of like cucumbers!" he said. He then proceeded to eat every last radish in the bag.
The community garden has a booth at the Farmer’s Market on the first Sunday of each month. The Farmer’s Market sets up shop year round, every Sunday from 9:00 – 1:00, using the same parking lot as the community garden. People sign up for our e-mail list there to receive news about upcoming events. Our two Master Gardeners answer questions.
Right now, the garden is bursting with organic, fresh-tasting tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, bok choy, spinach, arugula and peas. What you love is what you’re here for—that is that and nothing more! If you would love to garden, but don’t know how to manage the harsh soil and heat of Arizona, Ahwatukee Community Garden is your place! Come join us in saving the earth one seed at a time.
~Article by Kelly Athena featured in Inside Ahwatukee Magazine
See photos of our garden and activities here
Website by KellyAthena.com