The Natrona County USDA Service Center in Wyoming recently donated 24 bundles of onions from its People’s Garden to the Salvation Army and hopes to add tomatoes and beets to the list soon.
“Being part of creating and maintain a People’s Garden has been very exciting for us,” said Linda Valdez, farm program technician. “It has inspired us and given us a chance to do something to help our community.”
This is the first year the service center planted a garden, giving Wyoming a total of three People’s Gardens, with the other two residing at the FSA State Office and the Agricultural Research Service High Plains Arboretum in Cheyenne.
Woody ornamental plants and fruit trees, as well as strawberries and raspberries make up the People’s Garden at the arboretum, which collaborated with the High Plain Grasslands Research Station and the City of Cheyenne to create educational opportunities through tours and signage that identifies each tree and plant.
“This is what USDA is really about. Providing a healthy and nutritious food supply and helping our environment at the same time,” said Valdez.
Earlier this month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that there is at least one People’s Garden in each of the 50 states, two U.S. territories and three foreign countries, with a total of 400 gardens worldwide.
“To have a People’s Garden’s in every state is a tremendous achievement and just one example of the dedication and commitment of all USDA employees in collaboration with their communities,” said Vilsack.
A People’s Garden can vary in shape and size, but all of them have the same goal of helping the community and the environment.
Recycling efforts went into the development of the Natrona garden by using old tires as pots or containers and purchasing mulch from the local dump that uses old branches and twigs that have been discarded and turns them into mulch. At a cost of $15 a pickup truck load, Valdez said it was worth it.
As for next year, the Natrona People’s Garden teams are already making plans to work with a water delivery company to obtain their unusable five gallon water bottles. “With the bottoms cut out and placed over the new plants, it will form a terrarium that will protect the plants from harsh winds, hail and late frost known in the Wyoming area,” said Valdez.
—by Natrona County USDA Service Center
