Vandalism destroys crops but not spirit of Community Garden of Millville
MILLVILLE – Cleanup at the Community Garden of Millville is just about complete after an intruder ravaged several raised planting beds.
The ruins remain, tangled vines and spoiled produce swept to the center of the garden at 4th and Vine streets.
But garden tenders say it’s time to press on. They're hopeful some fall crop donations will help revive the garden.
A week after the destruction, Heather Garrison of the Holly City Development Corporation tinkered with the sprinkler timer, stolen but recovered.
“I’m trying to figure out how to turn it on,” she said, reconfiguring a network of drip hoses around plants. “These babies need a drink."
It was a week ago, on Aug. 2, when Garrison discovered the damage. She stopped by the garden after an alert the remote connection to the remote watering system wasn’t working.
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At first, Garrison couldn’t fathom the destruction was purposely done, thinking instead it was damage from the previous night’s rare summer storm.
But closer inspection revealed plants yanked from the soil and strewn around the lot. Stems of other plants were broken.
It appears two raised beds of tomatoes took the brunt of the vandalism.
“Someone came in and wreaked a little havoc, it could have been worse,” said Garrison, a community builder with the non-profit organization.
“We were all very upset about it, but we looked on the bright side,” she said. “It was an isolated incident; we’ve been here two full years and never had an issue.”
Police were notified and the community garden moves forward.
“We’ve had the support of the community; the neighbors have been great,” Garrison said, resting at an unscathed shaded seating area.
“We have some carrots we haven’t harvested yet, they are almost ready,” she said.
Broccoli and collards are faring well.
Each crop is marked with painted rocks on the bed’s edge.
“We have a program here on Saturdays called Ready, Set, Grow,” Garrison said. Youngsters get hands-on lessons in gardening from 10 a.m. to noon through Aug. 20. They handcrafted the decorative markers.
The community garden, that transformed the 60-by-100 foot corner lot, debuted two years ago.
“I was one of the instigators to get it started,” said Curtis Zimmerman of Millville.
“I worked with Impact Harvest; I went to some of the other gardens they started,” he said, referring to the Buena-based ministry that provides fresh produce to those in food insecure areas. “I thought it was a good idea."
When he was named a Holly City Development Corporation trustee, Zimmerman raised the idea of establishing a community garden in Millville.
“The following year, I raised it again,” Zimmerman said. His seed of idea took root with six ground-level and three raised beds
Impact Harvest regularly distributes fresh produce, but the garden empowers people to grow their own.
Holly City Development Corporation partnered with the city to secure grant funding for the community garden, the first in the municipality with crops.
“For 19 months we’ve been doing a food distribution, we partner with Community Food Bank of New Jersey," Garrison said.
A community garden would not only grow fruits and vegetables but a relationship with its neighbors, Garrison said.
“We have knocked on doors and let the neighborhood know this is what we are doing,” she said. “Before we even started it, we introduced ourselves, let them know this what we are doing, come out, harvest, help us weed, help us take care of the garden.”
“This second year was going well,” Garrison said.
Zimmerman added the garden is also a place to enjoy some shade on a summer afternoon.
When he drove by the other day, he spotted a gentleman sitting on the garden bench playing a guitar.
Local Girls Scouts added several bee and bug hotels to encourage pollination. Millville High students started the seedlings, which were then transplanted into the garden's beds.
“We had corn, we had broccoli, we had collards, we had cucumbers that were great,” Garrison said. “The strawberries were amazing.”
“We have a lot of herbs," she said. "At the base of the sign we have lavender, chamomile, and basil."
In a separate unrelated incident, the garden recently lost its fruit bushes planted along the fence line.
“I’m sure it was not malicious,” Garrison said.
The blueberry bushes were mowed down perhaps by someone who may have had good, but misguided, intentions.
“I think they were trying to help," she said, hoping that someone will donate replacement bushes.
It’s a teachable moment for young gardeners that things are going to happen, but you must press on, Garrison said.
“That’s our plan: to get out here, rebuild, and plan for the fall,” she said. “We look forward to bigger and better things next year."
Garrison made one last appeal for help after fiddling with the coiled hoses.
“We’re looking to do irrigation next year, so if there is anybody who knows how to do that,” she said.
If you want to help by volunteering time or by making a donation, contact the Holly City Development Corporation at 856-776-7979.
This article originally appeared on Vineland Daily Journal: Millville NJ community garden vandalized, community cleaning up
