Building Beds, Planting Seeds, and Remembering Bugs

                                            University of Kentucky Extension Service telling everybody
                                             a thing or two about bugs

                                                Most everybody has put something in the ground.

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                                   By raising high beds, we were able to keep the plants out of the water

Americana Garden Starts Growing

Allow me to introduce this blog, since it is just now in its infancy. 

This is and forever shall be the blog of the Americana Community Garden at the Americana Community Center located in the south side of Louisville, Kentucky. 

Just so you know, the

"Americana Community Center (Americana or ACC) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides a spectrum of services for the many diverse residents of Louisville Metro, including immigrant, refugee, and U.S.-born individuals and families. These services enable people to discover and utilize resources to build strong families, create a safe, supportive community, and realize their individual potential.

The center provides an array of social services and referrals explicitly designed to respond to the specific and changing needs of our program participants. Programs are re-evaluated on an ongoing basis to determine their efficacy and appropriateness. 

Great cultural, ethnic and economic diversity in the South End neighborhood where Americana is located provides a wealth of challenges and opportunities. To address these, Americana Community Center was established as a resource for area families.  Americana currently serves individuals from 79 countries."

(from http://www.americanacc.org)

This year is a new and exciting one. In past years, plots in the garden were small, so this year the Americana Center expanded the space for each plot. There are ten plots for individual gardeners, a plot for the kids, and a plot for Family Education.

Ways the community garden enhances the community:

• Inexpensive source of high quality produce for low income residents
• Better for the environment
• Eases stress of acculturation for immigrants and refugees
• Improves cross-cultural communication
• Improves mental and physical well being
• Gives individuals a sense of ‘purpose’
• Provides a constructive activity for whole families to engage in
• Reduces the incidence of hunger in the community

The garden needs constant care and we are always looking for volunteers and donations. 

Currently we're trying our hand at permaculture design, native planting, raised beds, and building hoop houses. 

Right now, everything is flooded. Its like a swamp down here sometimes. We'll have to put off a few things until the flood flows away.

Please do come visit us sometime