Homegrown: Tour of community gardens

The community garden tour last week in Cedar Rapids, organized by Buds Community Garden Network, was nothing short of inspirational.

I didn't make it to all of the gardens, but what I saw was incredible.

For example, Horizons Meals on Wheels has a garden thriving near downtown at 819 Fifth St. SE.

Jessica Link explained how the garden was built with help from Rinderknecht Associates and AmeriCorps. Students from Metro High School, a team at Brucemore, Bankers Trust volunteers and Green Iowa AmeriCorps were involved with starting seedlings and planting.

Volunteers from Foundation 2, Four Oaks and AmeriCorps have also helped with maintenance and harvesting.

Tomatoes were abundant, with other vegetables, such as peppers and cucumbers planted for homebound adults and the Meals on Wheels program.

At the Catherine McAuley Center garden, 1055 Fifth Ave. SE, women in the program have assisted with all phases of the garden and are now enjoying the nutritious fruits of their labor.

Housing coordinator Nicki Ross told me that more than 120 pounds of produce was harvested in the last few weeks, including 30 egg plants.

The urban lot is so productive, in fact, that other programs will benefit from the bountiful vegetable harvest, including the Willis Dady shelter.

Iowa State University Extension is offering food preparation classes and a canning class to help the women effectively use the produce.

“It's a huge learning process,” Nicki said.

For more photos from the tour see Homegrown on

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