Even with daylight savings, there’s not enough daylight for folks busy planting this spring. TreesAcadiana meets at 6:30 p.m. today at South Louisiana Community College, 320 Devalcourt St., with a thickly forested agenda. The general meeting will address projects by TreesAcadiana as well as consider updates on Bayou Vermilion, the La. Urban Forestry Council, the Atchafalaya Basin Keeper, T.R.A.I.L, Environmental Schools of Choice - Lafayette Parish Schools, EarthShare Gardens and CRIA. For more information and to join the TreesAcadiana email list, email a request to [email protected].
Some recent developments from our organic gardening buddies over at EarthShare Gardens include a new location and a much expanded garden. The gardens have been transplanted to four acres between the Family Dollar shopping center on Carmel Avenue and the Holy Family Apartments on Louisiana Avenue. The new entrance is off Louisiana Avenue (go slow because it is still difficult to see), between the light at Carmel and the Holy Family Apartments, across from the golf course.
If you are interested in your own vegetable plot, EarthShare has community garden space. For a small seasonal fee, you can garden your own plot of earth, hang out with like-minded individuals, use the tiller, and ask questions. It’s time to get seeds into the ground for all of those summer delights — eggplants, tomatoes, all kinds of peppers, cucumbers and squash, basil, tomatoes, sunflowers, marigolds, tithonias, and beans. The Community Gardens Coordinator, an organic grower for many years, will be on site just about every Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon.
The Donation Garden is beginning to take shape. Its mission it to provide fresh, nutritious, organic produce to soup kitchens, diners and shelters. The Community Roots Project is working to start neighborhood gardens in areas around town that may not have access to fresh produce (much less organic), and may not have the sunlight, the space, the tools or the skills to grow a garden themselves.
EarthShare Gardens was selected by the Community Foundation of Acadiana to have a tent at Rhythms on the River in River Ranch on Thursday, April 30. Donations will go toward the Donation Garden. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band will be playing that night. For more information about EarthShare Gardens, check out the Web site , MySpace page, or send an email to [email protected].