cfsa farm tour anathoth community garden

The second stop on the farm tour was the Anathoth Community Garden in Cedar Grove, NC, a rural town of less than 1,000 people. Following the murder of a town member a few years ago, the community got together to heal. This community garden project came out of that healing process. Sitting on five donated acres, this project of the Cedar Grove Methodist Church brings together eighty members of the area to farm together.

Rather than renting out plots, this garden truly brings the community into “community garden”. Folks work side by side over the entire 1 1/2 acres of current cultivation and share in all of the produce that comes out of the area. Membership is a mere $10 per year and requires two hours of work per week in order to get a share of produce. Member potlucks are held at least once a week after a day’s work.

The variety of cold weather crops was pretty amazing as was the actual garden bed construction. The farm employs the biointensive methods outlined by John Jeavons in his book “How to Grow More Vegetables“. The basic theory is that the deeper, more nutritious and well watered the soil is, the more plants it can sustain per square foot. A healthy soil eliminates the need for the plants to compete for nutrients and more calories can be harvested from less space.

The farm also uses raised beds dug to a depth of at least 18 inches with some beds dug 24 inches deep. Heavy mulches, rotation and use of farm made compost contribute to the bounty of the small farm.

Here is first year asparagus –

Broccoli ready for the first cut –

Brussels sprouts –

The farm’s new off-grid greenhouse –

A sweet looking bibb lettuce variety –

For irrigation the farm uses drip tape, which is a great way of reducing evaporation by getting the water to the soil surface one drip at a time. The result is a penetrating soak that uses much less water than overhead irrigation and gives a deeper watering. Usually this irrigation method is used with mulch for maximum benefit.

For cool season extension, the farm uses floating row covers. Underneath this cover was a variety of head lettuce as well as tatsoi, bok choi, pak choi and mustard.

The Anathoth garden is able to feed many more than its eighty members. It also delivers food to the elderly, to food banks and other community members. Overall I felt this was an extremely well functioning community garden, pulling a great member base in a low population rural area.