E AST O REGONIAN
LIFESTYLES
PLANTING
SEEDS
Staff photos by Kathy Aney
ABOVE: A tomato hangs from a vine Wednesday at the Hermiston Community Garden. BELOW LEFT:
Neva Gilcher pulls weeds Wednesday at the Hermiston Community Garden. BELOW RIGHT: Chelle
Hankinson and David Martinez fi x a problem with the drip irrigation system Wednesday at the Herm-
iston Community Garden.
From left to right, Lianna
Correa, Rosanna Valet, Neva
Gilcher, Chelle Hankinson and
David Martinez get ready to
pull weeds on Wednesday at the
Hermiston Community Garden.
WEEKEND, MAY 25, 2019
Hermiston’s community garden
teaches skills and responsibility
By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian
At Lovin’ Spadeful Community Garden, Bill and Ann
Webb’s family is planting seeds.
There are pumpkin seeds and marigold seeds and bell pep-
per seeds. But there are also seeds of knowledge, hard work and
responsibility.
“We want them to take a more active role and get a better
idea of where our food comes from and how much work it takes
to grow it,” Bill said, explaining why they signed their children
up for a plot at the community garden this year after moving to
Hermiston.
The family visits the garden, located on Good Shepherd
Health Care System’s campus, a few times a week to take care
of the variety of plants that are beginning to sprout. One of the
advantages of the community garden is that all the tools, from a
drip irrigation system to spades and hoes, are provided.
“I think it’s a great program,” he said. “There’s a lot of value
added to it.”
Chelle Hankinson, who spearheads the garden, said a com-
munity garden can be a great option for people who live in an
apartment or other situation where they don’t have the space
or supplies to grow their own vegetables or fl owers. But even
homeowners with spacious yards participate in the garden for
the camaraderie.
Hankinson, for example, gardens there with her mother
because they enjoy mingling with other gardeners and learn-
ing from them.
“Families at fi rst come in and have no idea what to do with
tomatoes, and then they run into someone who gives them
pointers,” she said. “People are talking to people they wouldn’t
talk to otherwise, sharing tips and sharing vegetables.”
Lovin’ Spadefuls started seven years ago with 40 plots and
has since grown to 80. Seventeen are still available at a rate
of $10 for the season. New amenities continue to sprout at the
site as a long list of local business donate sheds, benches, signs,
fences, tomato cages, bark and other items. The garden also
gets donated labor from people sentenced to community ser-
vice, and students from Umatilla School District planted fl ow-
ers around the outside of the fence.
“If anybody ever comes to me and says, ‘What can I give?’
I say ‘What do you have?’” Hankinson said. “I never say no.”
She said her next goal for the garden is to get some raised
beds that would be more accessible to people with limited
mobility.
When the garden fi rst started, Hankinson said, there was a
minor problem with thefts of produce. But since a camera sys-
tem was installed and offenders were caught it has cleared up
the problem.
The Umatilla County Master Gardeners help teach garden-
ers at the site and run an example plot that each year showcases
innovations, such as vertical gardening. Participants have the
option before the season starts of attending a six-week Seed to
Supper class that mixes gardening and cooking tips.
Melissa Garrett said she took the class this year and really
enjoyed it. Her family has gardened at Lovin’ Spadefuls every
year but one.
“Before, I was just trying things and hoping that it worked,
but I felt like I learned a lot,” she said.
She said she usually brings her kids over in the evenings, and
she is grateful for the chance to teach them about eating healthy
and learning a valuable skill.
“It’s very beginner-friendly,” she said of the garden. “It’s a
great resource. All the tools you need are already there, and it’s
not as intimidating as it seems.”
Tomas Montoya’s family is going for variety over quantity
in their fi rst year at the garden, growing zucchini, carrots, pep-
pers, asparagus, tomatoes, parsley, eggplant, chard, cucumbers,
celery and basil.
“Stuff is fi nally coming up through the soil, so that’s excit-
ing,” he said.
His family recently moved to Hermiston and found the com-
munity garden a “handy” way to get started on a garden. He
said they have made new friends at the garden and through the
Lovin’ Spadefuls Facebook page, where garden members ask
questions and share advice.
“We enjoy the community part, and getting to know Herm-
iston from the ground up,” he said.