A time to plant

Nearly 10 years ago, Kim Normand had a vision. She wanted to create a community garden with a focus on growing vegetables, a portion of which would be donated to local nonprofit food assistance facilities.

Her dream has flourished—but not quite in the way she expected.

“When I started this project, the main goal was to give produce to people in need,” says Normand, coordinator and founder of Shared Harvest Community Garden, at 10th Street and Foster Avenue in Coeur d’Alene.

“But it turned out to be so much more.”

Shared Harvest’s primary purpose is still gardening and giving, but Normand soon discovered that maintaining enthusiasm among a broad cross-section of community activists is what keeps the program thriving.

“Planting is easy, but getting volunteers excited about program, that’s what you have to nourish,” Normand says.

Mission accomplished.

Since Shared Harvest Community Garden came to fruition in 2009, an impressive 55,653 pounds of produce has been given to more than a dozen local facilities such as food banks and soup kitchens.

The produce has been grown by hundreds of volunteers from all walks of life—including a scientist, professor, organic farmer and a librarian.

“They come down, and they wear their jeans like everybody else, so no one knows who anyone is. That’s why it has worked for 10 years. It’s a unified sense of community,” Normand says.

Located on about a half-acre in downtown Coeur d’Alene, Shared Harvest includes 60 raised garden plots measuring 4- by 10-feet each. The property is loaned to the garden group by local businessman Marshall Mend.

Each seasonal plot costs participants $25 and they can grow whatever they want with the understanding that they share part of their harvest with nonprofits.

Besides the individual plots, Shared Harvest also includes a shared “xeriscape show garden,” a larger tract along the perimeter of the property where fruit trees, berries and herb gardens are tended to by volunteers.

“The garden has a ripple effect among the volunteers who get a sense of paying it forward,” Normand says.

The personal benefits, Normand adds, extend beyond planting and cultivating. It’s a deeply personal experience for many.

“Everybody comes for different reasons,” she says. “We’ve had people healing from cancer, working through a divorce or just teaching kids who have never planted a seed before. It’s a real comforting place to be.”

Culinary classroom

Shared Harvest is not the only grassroots urban gardening program that mixes building community relationships with gardening, education and giving back.

The Gathering Garden on the North Idaho College campus serves as an outdoor community classroom to gather, learn, share, and celebrate the benefits of sustainable living, said Jessica Mannon, lead coordinator of the close-knit social group, formed in 2012.

“It’s grown into a tribe of people with common interests,” Mannon says. “We’re all foodies, and we strive to bring awareness to sustainability. Growing your own food is empowering, and we’re trying to spread that passion and knowledge.”

Like Shared Harvest, The Gathering Garden is open to all ages, skill levels, and walks-of-life.

“There are many ways to participate at the Gathering Garden depending on your interest and availability,” Mannon says.

Food harvested at The Gathering Garden is used by North Idaho College’s Culinary Arts Program at Emery’s Restaurant on the campus and is also donated to local food assistance organizations by the ambitious garden volunteers.

Spring gardening tips

For the backyard gardeners who choose to do their growing closer to home, Master Gardener Candace Godwin of Coeur d’Alene offered these useful tips:

Rule No. 1: “Resist the urge to buy now,” Godwin says. “We all want spring really bad, but this is not the time to plant. A lot of box stores are already getting inventory, but it’s too early.” Historically our last frost is May 21 so it’s best to wait until the end of May before planting warm-season crops like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. “These are all tender plants and if the frost hits these guys, they’re done.”

Rule No. 2: “It’s a good idea to get plants from local growers, farmers or nurseries because they are acclimated to our climate,” Godwin says.

Rule No. 3: If you can’t wait to grow, take advantage of tomato, cucumber or basil seeds that are easy to start indoors. If you start them now, by the time they are ready to be transplanted into a garden or pot, it will be mid- to late-May.

Rule No. 4: Now is the perfect prep time.

“If there’s any debris in the garden, tidy it up,” Godwin says. And it’s helpful to have a garden plan before you start planting.

“Take a little bit of time to look at garden and plan out what can go into containers that don’t need to go into the ground.”

Rule No. 5: “Enjoy gardening! Experiment and have fun.”