Intro to Plant Life (BIO115) takes a field trip to New Paltz's Community Gardening Project, Gardens for Nutrition.
11/03/2008
“The New Paltz Gardens for Nutrition was founded in 1976 as part of the counter-culture movement, aided, no doubt, by the economic incentive of double-digit inflation during the 1970s. Today the gardens encompass a large grid of 150 individual 20-by-20-foot plots filled with vegetables, flowers, herbs, bushes, and trees set hard against the Wallkill River on a five-acre flood plain. The gardens have running water for gardening and a separate line of potable town water; three years ago, a solar-powered electric deer fence was installed around the entire grid. Gardening tools, wheelbarrows, and lawnmowers are provided and are maintained or replaced yearly. Unlike other gardens, New Paltz is not re-plowed each year. While this means that gardeners can return year after year to their ever-growing perennials, it can also mean that newcomers may have to work hard to undo what their predecessors left behind.”
"Hidden from most major roads, the New Paltz gardens have a cloistered feel, and the atmosphere is friendly. Visitors can enjoy the aromas wafting from each unique plot, whether it is filled with exhibitionistic peonies or shy, retiring herbs like lemon thyme. There is a stunning variety of plants on display, and quirky individual touches grace nearly every garden plot. Sculptures, bird feeders, hand-painted signs - all point to the gardener's personality and vision." --- From New York House Magazine: http://www.upstatehouse.com/archive/article.php?issue=12&dept=32&id=175.