By Beth Totten, public relations
(Canastota, NY – June 2014) Cicero said, “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” At the Canastota Public Library, our gardens are beautiful. If you haven’t stopped to smell the flowers, enjoy the ambiance and check out our raised bed vegetable garden, please try to find the time to do that.
Last year, we started our Canastota Seed Exchange. It offers anyone in the community the opportunity to share in a wealth of non-hybrid, open-pollinated seeds—many of these lovingly shared from native Canastota families who have grown specific beans, peas and other plants for years. If you haven’t experienced the Seed Exchange, here’s how it works…you stop in and browse our seeds, select the ones that you would like to try. Then, you go home and plant them, water them, and grow them to maturity. Harvest those you would like to try and then save the seeds from one or two plants. Once they are ready, bring those seeds back to the library and donate them to be planted by someone next year. It’s a simple and fun concept.
We also decided that although our gardens had many flowers, it would be nice to show our patrons just what some of the seeds look like when planted and grown in our garden. Katrina and Jan from our staff researched what grows best near each other and created a grid for the garden. They then planted some of our seeds. As I walked through the garden this morning, I took the time to check out the progress of the beans and peas and other vegetables planted there. The raised bed vegetable garden looks spectacular.
Like many libraries that have started seed exchanges, we are considering the option of creating a space for community gardens. We believe that a community garden would be a place where area residents, adults and children, could learn to grow, share and learn about food, specifically sustainable gardens and food literacy. In our mind, gardeners who would like to farm on a library plot would agree to follow various practices and maintain their space. This type of garden in larger cities has helped people feel a greater sense of community and belonging. Many people who have small properties might like the experience of farming a small lot in a community garden. There might also be a community area where we could grow food that would be donated to the Opportunity Shop for their food bank. We would probably ask the gardeners to help us maintain that area as well.
The library has much to offer as far as research, books and resources on gardening. As a matter of fact, this summer we are offering three programs dealing with the garden. Our first program will be held on Monday, July 7 at 6 p.m. and is titled “Canning, from Applesauce to Zucchini Pickles.” Small classes will show the process from start to finish. Amanda Hewitt from Nelson Farms will be teaching this session.
Additionally, in August (Aug. 13 at 7 p.m.) we will present “From Garden to Table,” a cooking demo by Angela Rigler. She will use fresh vegetables from the garden to prepare a great summer evening meal.
Finally, on Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. Katrina McManus will offer “Simple Seed Saving” and share tips on how to clean and save your seeds to donate to the Canastota Seed Exchange. We hope to continue to offer these types of programs for our community.
No decisions have been made regarding a community garden space but we would really like to learn if the general public of Canastota is interested in this type of area. You can email me your thoughts at btotten@midyork.org or just leave a comment on this blog. Or, stop by and share your ideas with us at the library. We’re here for you.
The Canastota Public Library is located at 102 W. Center Street.You can reach them by calling 697-7030.