The Mobile Meals Garden Project is off and running! This beautiful plot of earth behind The Meeting Place Senior Center on Skyuka Road in Columbus has become a showplace of productive gardening.

Developed to add fresh, tasty nutritional value to the meals produced in the kitchens at the center, the garden is already providing lettuces (romaine, arugula, buttercrunch, curly leaf, etc.), spinach, kale, and a variety of herbs for Polk County Mobile Meals as well as the on-site meals at Columbus, Saluda and Green Creek.

“Our kitchen staff prepares between 170 and 200 meals every day for seniors in Polk County,” said director Pam Doty. “They are dedicated to producing quality meals for our participants and are graciously willing to take the extra time to prepare meals using fresh produce.”

Since the last weeks of April, the garden has produced 20 bushels of greens, three gallons of strawberries, one bushel of beets and radishes, and enough herbs to add flavor to the bountiful salads. According to the chief gardener, squash, zucchini, cabbages, broccoli, and cauliflower can be added to the menu next week with tomatoes and cucumbers starting to come in the following week.

“This is the second year for the Garden Project. Last year’s modest effort was so well received that we’ve gone all out this year. We are using raised beds for easier access and are trying out straw bale gardening for the tomatoes, cucumbers, and cabbages. We’re raising strawberries in rain gutters along the fence on one side of the garden and creating trellises along another side for beans. We have planted potatoes in a wire tower. And we’re just getting started with composting!” Doty says.

Corn, okra, beans, peas, sweet potatoes, melons, and pumpkins have been planted and will be harvested at their peak. Grapes, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries are growing well and are expected to produce fruits by next year. Plans are in the works for cooler weather plantings in the fall and winter.

The garden project is funded by donations and tended by staff and volunteers. The recent Motorcycle Run for Mobile Meals raised money for the infrastructure. If you would like to donate your time or funds to this worthy effort, please contact Pam Doty at 828-894-0001.

– article submitted
by Pam Doty