Port Ludlow Voice Article

Port Ludlow Voice, May 2020

Page 10

Gardening to Support the Community

Quimper Grange Garden.

With the restrictions in place for mitigating the COVID-19 outbreak, gardening can be a wonderful outlet for working off tensions, as well as taking in some fresh air. It can also be a way of helping our neighbors who are thrown out of work by the lock- down restrictions and may be having difficulty paying for food.

The Food Bank Farm and Gardens of Jefferson County (FBFG), an all-volunteer group founded in 2013, has seven gardens in the east county from Port Townsend to Chimacum, that are currently being planted with vegetables. An eighth garden is planned and will be started in a couple of weeks. When the harvest comes in, the fresh vegetables are given to the local food banks for distribution. And boy, do the gardens produce! Last year the total given to food banks was over 8,000 pounds of fresh produce.

Volunteers can work in the gardens in a variety of capacities, all while maintaining the recommended physical/social distance. Looking to learn more about gardening in this area? There is no better place to do it; you’ll be working with experienced and master gardeners who can answer questions and show you how.

If you would like to know more or see a map of the gardens that are already in place, visit socialbody.org. To volunteer, send an email to [email protected].

If you can’t work in the gardens, how about a donation to FBFG? Donations pay for seed, soil amendments, tools, deer fencing, and other supplies the gardens need to produce abundantly. Send donations to Food Bank Farm and Gardens of Jefferson County, P.O. Box 1432, Port Townsend, WA 98368.

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Birchyville Garden expands

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Quimper Grange seedlings

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