Jubilee Gardens taking space reservations

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Jubilee Gardens Inc. is accepting garden-space reservations for the 2014 gardening season.

Jubilee will operate two gardens during the season, on Lafayette Street and Tod Lane. The Lafayette Street garden is in Brier Hill, and the Tod Lane garden is just east of Belmont Avenue on Tod Lane.

Anyone interested in securing a garden plot should call Pat Lowry at 330-727-6137 or send email to Pat_Lowry@hotmail.com.

Jubilee Gardens owns its own property and has significant gardening and farming implements. For almost 30 years, the garden has provided space to residents of the Mahoning Valley.

In support of the gardener, Jubilee Garden provides safe and secure gardening space, plowing, water, plants and seeds.

The Lafayette Street garden is configured with about 50 plots, and also includes an herb garden, a strawberry patch, a raspberry patch and a few fruit trees. There also is a small greenhouse on the property. The entire garden and storage building are surrounded by chain-link fence.

The Tod Lane garden has about 16 plots with four apple trees and two flower planters. The Tod Lane garden was built in 2012. Depending on the weather and ground conditions, the gardens open in mid-May and close by mid-October.

Jubilee will celebrate the opening of the gardens May 22 with an event at First Presbyterian Church, 201 Wick Ave. Gardeners and other members of the community will gather for lunch and a presentation by keynote speaker Christina Perry of the 30-Mile Meal Project. Gardeners also will pick up seeds and plants for their own use.

Jubilee Gardens is working with the Mahoning County Land Bank to acquire two lots adjacent to the Lafayette Street garden for future use.

At the end of the gardening season, Jubilee Gardens board members, gardeners and interested members of the community gather for a “harvest dinner,” at which awards are given to the gardeners for their hard work.