Strong River Bend Residents Create Community Garden

by Ima Phibber

Spring is finally here! Valleyans have been hard at work recently planting their gardens for the summer. According to a recent online survey, more people than ever are planting gardens to help save money on their grocery bills. Food inflation has hit Americans and Valley residents very hard over the past few years, and it seems like there is no end in sight.

A few Strong River Bend (SRB) residents recently decided to create a community garden for SRB residents to help cut down on food costs. Johnny Greanthum is heading up the project, and the garden will be called the SRB Community Garden. Greanthum is a retired teacher, and he has a passion for gardening. Greanthum said, “People are struggling economically right now. Grocery prices have gone through the roof. I wanted to come up with a way to help people, and I think this community garden is going to help a lot of people in the community.”

The first hurdle that Greanthum had was finding a spot for the garden. Thankfully, the town of SRB is allowing their town park to be used. SRB is allowing Greanthum and his crew to cultivate one acre on a vacant area in the town park. Also, seeds and gardening equipment were donated by Strong River Bend Feed & Seed.

Greanthum is very excited about the garden, but he wants everyone to know there are a few rules.

• You must be a SRB resident to get food.
• You don’t work, you don’t eat. (It’s in the Bible)
• Take only what you need.

Greanthum said, “We had to create a few rules, because people are crazy these days. You give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile. We will have a volunteer at the garden from 7:00 am- 7:00 pm each day to help residents. Also, we will have a work log for everyone to log their work in the garden. Remember, you don’t work, you don’t eat! We will also have cameras monitoring the garden 24/7. We hope SRB residents will make this a family affair to teach their kids about the value of hard work and gardening. Plus, it’ll help people save money on their grocery bills. We’ll plant a variety of vegetables including squash, cucumbers, okra, and more. It should be a win-win for everyone.”

Most people in SRB are excited about the community garden, but a couple SRB residents I talked with are not happy about it. One resident said, “I’m not in favor of this. It’s too much like communism to me. Are they gonna want us to live in communes next? Plus, people don’t want to work these days. I bet the vegetables just rot before they’re picked.”

Another SRB resident said, “I was excited to learn about this, but I’m not so enthused now. I understand they’re using genetically modified seeds to grow the crops. Plus, I hear they’re not going to use organic fertilizer. Nope, sorry! Can’t do it!”

Seeds were planted over the past couples weeks, so the garden should be coming along nicely in the coming weeks. Greanthum has created an interesting concept, and I’m anxious to see if this catches on elsewhere. SRB residents should contact Mr. Greanthum with any questions.