Spreading Gardens in the Neighborhood

The main purpose for which the In the Gardens main site was started was to serve as a source of food and education: for the congregation of which I was the rabbi, for the broad community, and more specifically, for my neighborhood. I had a vision that sharing the harvest with my neighbors would not only build good friendships, but serve as a springboard.

In the first year, I was given tips from my next-door neighbor about the growing and pruning of tomatoes. He grew these as well as peppers and cucumbers. He told me his Italian grandfather taught him to prune the little suckers – the small stems coming off of the main stem – to improve the strength of the plant. Taking out these little future branches would permit the plant to put more energy into producing flowers and tomatoes and less energy into growing more stems and leaves. Furthermore, this pruning yields a more wieldy plant. Anyone who has grown tomatoes knows the tomato jungle that can easily take over if left to its own devices. Then, you wonder, How do I get to all of those precious fruits down at the bottom in the middle? Mike was my first neighborhood teacher.

A couple of years later, Maria and another neighbor from Maywood admired my peaches. “Can we buy a bag?” they asked. “No,” I replied, “but you can have a bag.” Their gratitude was such that they offered to help out with the garden. After volunteering, they became my first employees. In the process they taught me about tying up branches laden with peaches, so that the weight of the fruits didn’t break the branches right off the tree. They learned this from growing fruit in their native Mexico.

Being on a corner, our main site gets lots of neighborly attention. Folks walking dogs, moms and dads out with the little ones in strollers, teens on skateboards or walking to and from school. People stop me all the time. They ask what’s growing and they share a story of success or failure in their own yard. They ask advice, they ask for a taste. And when the blackberries come ripe and the oregano flowers burst forth, when the harvest of the garden is ready, I bring them samples and invite them over to share.

Last evening was a case in point. I had just returned from a flight out of town, and my neighbor was outside with a friend, both of whom who had visited the garden before. We looked at the grapes, which sit on the fence between our two yards, and we saw the tiny grape buds already growing. I invited them over to pick some lettuces, scallions and herbs for an evening salad. Gisel just had her yard redone and there is a narrow area that was set aside for a garden. She asked me if I would help her with it. I went and took a look. We talked about expanding the space some, and I told her that In the Gardens would be happy to help out.

I don’t yet know what she wants to grow. She needs to think about that – but not for too long, as planting season is upon us! I know she loves herbs and cooking with them, and she enjoys the veggies that she has seen growing through the fence. I imagine that as her garden grows neighbors will see it and ask her about it. Perhaps they will be inspired to grow some food of their own. And bit by bit, the neighborhood is transformed; each of us sharing our expertise with one another, growing similar and different foods to share and to compare our successes and disappointments, and ultimately, all of us coming together in community, feeding each other a bit. In this process we reconnect to one another in joy and appreciation, and marvel at the earth that truly is the source of all life, including ours. Through the garden we build our personal and planetary health, our sense of wonder and the precious connection with one another that will fuel our future.

Rabbi Robin Damsky