DUKE FARMS: Gardeners of all types share green plots

Published August 23, 2012

By: Peter Sclanfani, Packet Media Group

Hillsborough, NJ -- Vick Roskowski looks over the green leafy plants of his garden before dropping to his knees, throwing his tools to the side and plunging his hands into the soil to pull up weed after weed.

”There is nothing quite like reconnecting with nature,” he said.

Mr. Roskowski, of Manville, is one of a number of people from all walks of life — including doctors, small-business owners, teachers and insurance sales representatives — who have formed a tight-knit community while planting, weeding and harvesting their own plots in the second year of a large, fenced garden run at Duke Farms.

They are among the more than 800 people who have been going for the green in the community garden this year.

Duke Farms, which opened most of its 2,700 acres to visitation by the public, free of charge, this May, boasts the largest community garden in the region, according to Duke Farms Programs Director Nora Wagner.

More than 400 plots are available for anybody in the community who wants to try their hand at gardening. Having a green thumb is not a requirement.

According to Ms. Wagner, about 500 people applied for a plot in the garden this year. However, she said she expects to have more people apply for next season’s garden now that a fuller range of Duke Farms has opened to the public.

Plots range from $10 for 10 feet by 10 feet to $30 for a 15-foot by 30-foot plot.

”We want to give the opportunity to enter the garden world to whoever has the desire to do it,” Ms. Wagner, said.

She estimates 60 percent of the 800 gardeners there had never gardened before.

”It’s the greatest thing,” said gardener Kristen Brickner, who sells insurance for a vocation. “You get to meet new people and learn new things.”

For many people, like Ms. Brickner, who live in townhouses or apartments, the Duke Farms community garden provides a place to practice their hobby.

Everything from lettuce to watermelons can be found in the garden, and some of the gardeners have even planted seeds from their native homes in India and Pakistan.

The garden, which is entirely organic, does not use any pesticides to protect the plants from bugs and other creatures. Instead, Duke Farms provides classes on organic gardening. It teaches tips on how to employ safer methods of keeping unwanted pests out of the garden.

Garden plots are awarded through a lottery system, and all gardeners must attend an orientation class as well as the “Organic Gardening 101 Workshop.”

Mulch, manure, wood chips, hay and water are given to the gardeners. The site fences out deer.

Hillsborough’s Christoph Ohngemach, a pediatrician at St. Peter’s University Hospital, said he learned how to garden from his father, who was an organic gardener in Germany.

A member of the BoroGreen environmental group, Mr. Ohngemach helps tend a 30-foot by 15-foot plot from which the harvest contributes to food banks in Somerset County.

”We have made five or six trips to the food banks so far,” he said. “I applaud Duke (Farms) for doing this because this is something that has been missing from the community.”

Some of the plots contribute to the Giving Garden, which was started by Ernst Cottrill, of Warren Township. The Giving Garden produces large amounts of food for the local food banks.

According to Joanna Ambrosio, one of the Giving Garden’s volunteers, about 220 pounds of organic onions were harvested in early July. If the same amount of onions were bought at an organic store, such as Whole-

Foods, the cost would be $550, Ms. Ambrosio said.

Volunteers for the Giving Garden predict its potato harvest will yield more than 1,000 pounds of potatoes.

For Bruce Miller, of Bridgewater, gardening is a passion he has had for as long as he can remember, but his adult community does not allow residents to have garden plots in their backyards. When he heard about the community garden Duke Farms had planned, Mr. Miller jumped at the opportunity to participate.

Mr. Miller and his wife, Anita, come to the garden three times a week to maintain it and harvest vegetables.

”I like to watch things grow,” Mr. Miller said. “It doesn’t take much hard work to destroy something, but it takes a lot of hard work and energy to make something grow. It’s rewarding.”

”The garden is great because it inspires a new generation of gardeners, and the education that people are picking up is fantastic,” Ms. Wagner said.

”The garden helps build a community,” Ms. Miller said. “It’s really exciting to see people help each other and connect over gardening."