The first Lake Highlands Community Garden needs a better name

Last night, about a dozen folks and I acquired new garden plots that are not in our backyards.  A very nice man named A.L. Nickerson is initiating a Community Garden along with assistance from Bob Curry with the City of Dallas.  They hosted a meeting at the Rec Center to explain this first Community Garden in Lake Highlands.  It's located behind the armory at Goforth and White Rock Trail.  This is not the first Community Garden Mr. Nickerson and Mr. Curry have started and that was evident in hearing them explain how it's all going to work.

My plot is #8, 128 square feet currently covered in bermuda grass.  Today I'll actually go over there and see what my plot looks like and more importantly, what I'm facing in the 'I can't believe how much every muscle in my body hurts and I've only tilled 1/2 of this pile of dirt' department.  I'm kind of excited, in a masochistic way.

Along with laying out the approximately two dozen plots for maximum sun, Mr. Nickerson has designed the area to accommodate an organic compost pile, accessible irrigation, and pathways that will one day be covered in wood chips. The plan is to have the entire area tilled, turned, composted, with a few days to 'rest', by the end of March. But much has to happen yet, namely, get rid of the grass, still a good 4 inches down, and, here's the biggie, run the plumbing lines. Mr. Curry is awaiting the results from a grant he filed with the City which, if successful, would go a long way, especially regarding the irrigation that needs to happen in 'our' garden.

'Our' garden it is, too. There are rules, just like in any community: Don't pick your neighbors tomatoes, pull your weeds, don't use poison, clean up your litter, don't plant anything illegal, etc. Even with the City's assistance, there will be much work to do, work that we all have to do together.

The two gentlemen cited a very successful Community Garden in Coppell, saying the folks who work that garden donate ten to fourteen thousand pounds of produce a year to a local food bank. While those of us who are in on the 'ground layer' of this Lake Highlands Community Garden won't realize that much in the first year, I'm looking forward to a little hard work, an eclectic oasis to escape to, new neighbors to discuss bugs with, and some nice tomatoes to slice, serve and share with friends. And as the title suggests, a more fitting name is being sought for this, the first Community Garden of Lake Highlands.

Also, it would be nice to hear from a benevolent plumber or irrigation guy interested in a barter: PVC in exchange for peppers, maybe?

Comments

[Bill Kennedy]

How about the Goforth and Prosper Co-op?

[rarepair]

Lord, I gotta clear my head and focus. (I'm still in a daze at having initially found the wrong location).

I read your name suggestion Bill and just kind of sat there and wondered, 'Hmm, where's Prosper Street?'

Beat, beat, beat...BAM I got it. I like it. I'll pass it on and see if it takes root. (Sorry about that).

[Bill Kennedy]

Great!

(BTW, is near the intersection of Seek and Yeeshallfind.)

[rarepair]

No Bill, you're thinking of that intersection in Nameless, Texas, down in the Hill County. And the streets are actually Seek and Gudinlost, not Yeeshallfind. Yeeshallfind is across the highway.