This proposal suggests moving the garden to the Sycamore/Wainwright location in Spring and Summer 2014 in time for the Fall 2014 growing season. The purpose of the relocation is to:
The Bill Crouch Community Garden was started in 2010 as a mission project at the First United Methodist Church of Denton, Texas. This garden grows organic food and donates it to Our Daily Bread, a local food pantry in
Denton. The garden is currently located in an area that is not ideal for gardening. There is shade from trees nearby, less than ideal watering capabilities, and limited space for growing. We are proposing to move the garden to a new lot that is owned by the church so that we can rebuild the garden and do much more with it than we could before. The following sections summarize the major aspects of the relocation plan. Prayer Garden Area
We have included a small prayer garden at the very front. This area is only 10’ x 45’ so it will only use about 10% of the garden space. This area will act as a pollinator garden as well, and will contain only native flowering plants. This area is important as it will attract pollinators and beneficial insects that will help our crops grow and maintain good health. This area will also provide a space for people to go and enjoy flowers and beautiful plants. It will include two benches to provide sitting areas. This could be used for small prayer groups, Sunday school classes, garden volunteers, and anyone else. It will include native fruit trees in this area as well such as fig, apple, peach, and pear. Raised Beds
At the front part of the garden, we have planned for 16 raised beds. The area with the raised beds will be approximately 20’ deep and 45’ wide. This will provide space for experimental growing of new crops, Sunday schools to grow smaller plots, and some interesting educational areas. This area will be flexible and able to change as our garden’s needs evolve. There is a lot of potential with the beds. We will have some beds about 12” or higher to allow for easier access. Some of the beds will be built upon a table, so they are wheelchair accessible. This will allow more members of our community to participate in the gardens as they are best able to. Rows
Behind the raised beds we have the garden rows. We chose to incorporate both rows and raised beds, in order to grow as much produce as possible while still allowing for experimentation and education. If, in the future the rows do better, we can take them out and add more rows, or add more raised beds if those work better. It is important to be flexible with gardening. The rows are going to have a line of irrigation running down the side, with drip lines that we can put in and take out in order to use the tiller in between plantings. This will also reduce water use and the time required for watering. We will have an automated system set up that will water during the week. Back Accessories
We will have a garden shed in the back corner. This will have a lock on it. Ideally, the water spigot and automated watering system can be located beside the shed for convenience and security. We will have a 100’hose, and a simple lock box over this as well. We will have 3 compost bins at the back that we will use to generate most of the compost for the gardens. This will also be used in our education classes. Education
With our new garden, we plan to do education and outreach to the community. Many of our members are Master Gardeners or Master Naturalists, and we would like to pull on that knowledge and expertise. We would like to offer classes on topics like organic gardening, backyard and urban gardening, composting, cooking, seed starting, native plants, pollinators and insects, and much more.
