Our Model
The Dr. John Community Garden, a program of Black Mountain Parks and Recreation rents 200 and 400 square foot plots to residents. Gardeners grow food for donation on 10% of their plot. The garden manager provides seeds or starts, education, and volunteer supervision for harvesting the produce, and the gardener provides the labor to grow the crop to maturity. On an additional 5000 square feet volunteers grow food exclusively for donation. All food grown for donation is distributed to our community through Bounty and Soul. Perennial crops are tended by volunteers throughout the park, including Asian pears, wild plums, blueberries and more. The garden relies on seasonal interns and community volunteers for its success.
The garden community practices no-till methods, integrated pest management, cover cropping, and passive composting. There is strong emphasis on cultivating overall garden health through building soil fertility and increasing species diversity.
