Windsor garden growing strong
By ROBIN QUICKEL
WINDSOR CORRESPONDENT
By day, Rob Huebschmann works for Motorola doing information technology program management. On the weekend he co-chairs the Windsor Community Garden at the corner of Windsor Road and Joe Rodota Way.
Windsor's community garden is situated near the Town Green and City Hall. (Jeff Kan Lee / PD)
Last week he gave us an update on the two-year-old project and talked about the successes and failures that go with the art of gardening.
Q: How did it get started?
A: Most of downtown Windsor’s residents live in townhomes. They wanted some space for growing their own vegetables.
The Town of Windsor planned to run a community garden, but due to budget cuts, the project was put on the chopping block. They eventually gave the Windsor Garden Club the option of running it as a nonprofit effort on land that belonged to the town.
We don’t pay rent, but we are responsible for running the garden and paying for water and insurance. The plot fees ($50 a year, with a few smaller ones at $30) cover that.
Q: What are some rules?
A: Everything must be organic. And because it’s a public shared space, no one can grow anything that is illegal, even if they have a permit for it. And you cannot have pets where you are growing food.
Q: Have you had anyone stealing food?
A: No, but we generally have so many things growing that nobody would notice if something was stolen.
Q: What’s next?
A: We’re building three more rows of plots that will basically finish this garden out, two of which are already rented. We only have six or seven plots available.
Q: What do most people grow?
A: Vegetables and a few fruit trees and berries.
Q: Where does the food end up?
A: Most vegetables end up in people’s homes, but when production is running high, we put a bin on the picnic table and everyone is told that if they have extras, they can put them there for the Windsor Service Alliance.
Q: What was the first thing you grew?
A: I started orange and lemon trees from seed in elementary school.
Q: What about your personal flops?
A: I don’t grow lettuce, I’m not attentive enough. You have to keep it watered and harvest it before it blooms. Mine always bloomed. And I can’t grow bell peppers. Other people can do it, but for some reason I have terrible luck with bell peppers.
Q: What’s in your garden now?
A: It’s embarrassing. It’s a bit overgrown because I’ve been traveling a lot for work.
This winter I focused on growing new things — a tree collard, curly mustard, green collards and some Swiss chard.
Last summer I grew mostly tomatoes, potatoes and zucchini, and pretty much ate everything I grew fresh from the garden.
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The organizers and club members of the Windsor Garden Club are energetic and creative people. They are a big asset to the Windsor Farmers Market where they set up every Sunday. Windsor is very lucky to have them all.
It looks pretty deserted without any people in the picture. Where are the gardeners that the story is about?
It was raining the entire week we tried to take a photo, and even the club members were out of town and unavailable for photos. Sometimes the stars aren’t aligned properly.