Time to grab a plot in the community garden

If you love to garden but don't have an appropriate spot, fret not. Cameron University's community garden has plots available.

The garden features 38 plots, each measuring 20 feet by 20 feet, and is located on Ole Kim Lane east of 38th Street. Plots can be reserved by current Cameron employees, retirees, alumni, current CU students and donors to the Cameron University Foundation, along with their immediate families.

Gardeners are responsible for maintaining individual plots throughout the growing season to ensure the garden remains productive and well-kept. A watering system runs throughout the garden, although gardeners must provide their own hoses and sprinklers as well as any other tools they need to tend the soil. They also supply their own seeds and transplants.

Preparations have been made to ensure a successful and productive growing season. Additional sandy loam has been incorporated into the garden soil, thanks to the generosity of a dedicated donor. This significantly enhances soil quality, making gardening easier and more productive compared to the previously hard soil conditions.

In the southwest corner of the garden, the CU Biology Club has planted native wildflowers to attract pollinators to support a healthy and thriving garden ecosystem.

Cameron established the current community garden in 2009 to bring back a long-gone campus tradition that played a vital role for Aggie students in the 1920s and 1930s during the school's high school and junior college era. A century ago, students worked in the garden as part of the agriculture curriculum.

In more recent times, the community garden has produced a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes, okra, squash, green beans, cucumbers, strawberries, corn, pumpkin and various types of peppers. Herbs have also been favored crops.

Those interested in obtaining a garden plot or seeking additional information are encouraged to contact the Department of Agriculture, Biology and Health Sciences at 580-581-2373, or email [email protected].

PR#26-032