By Amy Wheeler

Produce harvested from Sustainable Woodstock’s food security plots at the Billings Community Garden. Photo by Amy Wheeler

The first time I came across a community garden was many years ago in a different town and state, but I still remember being struck with the notion of what a beautiful act of unity and hope a community garden is. I recall the colorful hand-painted signs, the shaggy lines of sunflowers shining their joyful faces to the sun, and the people—old and young and in-between—hunched over the rows of veggies exclaiming with delight at their bumper crop of carrots and helping each other carry baskets full of tomatoes and zinnias.

Setting aside a little patch of land for community members to tend together is a gift we can give to ourselves and each other. To be part of a community garden is to make space for getting to know each other and our local environment in the open air, sharing the delight of pulling those first few slender green beans, or the disappointment when some hungry critter munches those beautiful heads of broccoli you were looking forward to eating for dinner. It’s sharing recipes together and pulling weeds together before they go to seed. It’s all part of caring for the earth, and caring for one another.

I’ve had the pleasure of working as the Community Garden Coordinator for Sustainable Woodstock since 2022. Each season is an adventure and brings its own joys and challenges for myself and I suspect for all the gardeners. This season has been wet and kind of weird with green tomatoes hanging heavy on their vines deep into august. There’s been lots of cucumbers and winter squash coming in but not many others wanting to give up a bumper crop. The weeds have been exponential and hard to keep ahead of for all but the most fastidious gardeners.

Despite the challenges, we’ve had a full roster of willing hands signed up for a season of community garden adventures. I can also report that we’ve been able to harvest and deliver around 150 lbs of delicious produce to the Woodstock community food shelf and the haven so far with more to come! Each time I bring in a donation, I feel incredibly grateful to live in this generous community and to be able to connect to the local food system in a sustainable way.

Sustainable Woodstock offers plots to the community first come, first served, each spring. We have one garden at King Farm–in partnership with the Vermont Land Trust–where the plots are on the smaller side but the views can’t be beat. The other garden is on land managed by Billings Farm, where there are bigger plots, more gardeners and a picture-perfect river to dip your feet into after a sweaty garden session, if you’re so inclined. They are both beautiful spots of respite where folks can go for a little time in nature and a chance to put their hands in the soil and grow beauty and bounty to share.

If community gardening is something you’d like to try- either because you lack garden space at home or you like the idea of gardening together or both- please join us! You are most welcome. You can reach me at gardener@sustainablewoodstock.org if you’d like to volunteer or get on the list for a plot next season.