FRESH FOOD

Fresh food- growing it, eating it, and sharing it- is one of the most important reasons why 

people participate in a community garden.


"More people are now realizing that fresh food is really important." -a community garden volunteer


Vegetables were gathered from the Indiana Community Garden for use in its Taste and Tour event.


Chives from the garden's herb bed are snipped to use in cooking.

Tomatoes and flowers are most often picked by visitors, but herbs are popular too. One nearby resident said, “I’ll be cooking dinner and realize I need a certain herb. It’s so nice to be able to just come to the garden and pick some fresh herbs.”  


Produce with this much eye appeal is seldom found in grocery stores. Beautiful vegetables are grown at the Indiana Community Garden, as much fodder for discussion as for food value. Quality foods like this are often offered for sale at local farmers markets. 

Community gardens naturally facilitate social networking.  For instance, people involved with the Indiana County Farmers Market are  also connected socially to the Indiana Community Garden. 
Click on either link below for information about the Indiana County Farmer's Market:




One volunteer of the community garden remarked, “It’s wonderful to say ‘you are welcome to come here and pick from the beds.’” 


From growing food...



 ...to sharing food. 




  
                                                                      
Shown below are  vegetables grown at the community garden. Heirloom varieties were grown in some of the plots. Heirloom vegetables have rich histories, and they earned heirloom status for qualities such as exceptional flavor.   Additionally, there is pride in obtaining seeds possessing esteemed history, growing them to fruition, and then sharing the stories and fruits with friends and family.    
                                                         
                                                                                                                                           
Rattlesnake pole beans, a delicious and beautiful heirloom variety dating back to the 1800s. 



"Cherokee" wax beans, an heirloom variety of yellow beans, growing thick in a raised bed.



An heirloom bell pepper, "Keystone Giant", shortly before being harvested.










Zucchini and  summer squashes added color to the large I-bed before being harvested by visitors to the Indiana Community Garden.



Young peas, shown here as they were beginning to mature, were shared by the gardeners.






A beautiful head of cabbage was one of many growing in the public I-shaped bed.

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