We have such an amazing town! I am excited to see the planning progress of the Fountain Hills Community Garden. Thank you to all of the volunteers, businesses and organizations who are helping to bring the vision of the Community Garden to life.

The June 30 meeting had herbs, plants, cupcakes, jewelry and t-shirts available in exchange for donations toward the garden. (T-shirts are still available for a $20 donation.) There was a 50/50 drawing, in which the winner was kind enough to donate her portion of the money to the garden. Information was shared about how to sign up to support the Community Garden through your regular purchases at Fry’s and Bashas’.

EPCOR Water Conservation Specialist Shaina Shay offered a very informative class on “Water efficient vegetable gardening in the Arizona desert.” She taught us that we should water for longer periods of time, less often, to make sure that the water is able to saturate the soil to a depth of 12 inches so that the water reaches the roots and doesn’t just evaporate.

She also noted that drip irrigation has many benefits including reducing evaporation, promoting healthy plants by providing water to the root zone of plants and reducing weed growth.

Shaina Shay gave us some great resources and websites to additional organizations (Native Seeds, Desert Harvesters, Valley Permaculture Alliance, Master Gardeners & Maricopa County Extension Office).

The Community Garden will be an amazing asset for our town! We are looking to get many local youth organizations (and other groups) involved with the garden.

The Garden’s motto is “Many hands make light work.” If you would like to get involved, please visit the Facebook page “Fountain Hills Community Garden” or the website at fhcultural-civic.org/community-garden.