The Morgan Hill Community Garden has comfortably grown into its new location just next to the Butterfield Boulevard overpass in recent months. Colorful sunflowers, perennials and ripening late-summer fruits and vegetables create a soothing palette among the flourishing green leaves and stalks, and reveal how busy and dedicated the tenants of nearly 100 garden boxes have been since the spring.
The city’s community garden officially moved into its current location at the beginning of this year. John Jenkins, president of the garden’s board of directors, has been heavily involved in the design and construction process, which mostly ended earlier this summer. He and the board just leased out the last open garden plots last week.
Jenkins thinks that with the Covid-19 pandemic upending people’s normal social, work and leisure routines, some have turned to gardening as a way to stay mentally and physically active. It’s also a satisfying way to grow one’s own food in a time of economic uncertainty.
“It gives them something social to do, but it’s safe. There’s plenty of room out here; some families bring their kids” to help water, maintain or harvest their crops, Jenkins said.
The community garden’s move to its new spot, which is accessed from Railroad Avenue, has been years in the making. The previous location—next to the South County Courthouse on Butterfield Boulevard—is the future site of a new Morgan Hill Fire station, and the gardeners have known for a long time they would have to vacate. The Morgan Hill Community Garden was first established at that site in 2010.
The community garden is now located on about three acres of previously vacant land owned by the city. There are currently 98 garden boxes—each 100 square feet in size—that are all leased by local Morgan Hill residents for $75 per year, per box. Tenants can each rent up to three boxes, though Jenkins said with demand climbing that limit might have to be tightened up.
In his plot, Jenkins is currently growing beans, tomatoes, beets, squash, onions, peppers and herbs. Jenkins noted that community garden renters come from all over the world, and some are county-certified Master Gardeners.
Eight of the planter boxes are accessible for disabled residents. These are raised a few inches higher off the topsoil than the rest of the boxes.
There is also room on the site for storage sheds and an accessible restroom, and plenty of area for the storage of mulch and soil. There is room to add more garden boxes as the demand and waiting list continue to grow.
Although Jenkins grows and maintains only one garden plot at the community garden, as president of the board he has plenty of ongoing improvements within the site to work on and coordinate.
One of these—a specialty pollination garden in the center of the site—will be a key feature of the community garden. Jenkins said this 3,000-square-foot space will include perennials, drought tolerant plants and herbs around the perimeter.
On a recent tour of the Morgan Hill Community Garden, Jenkins listed a host of residents, businesses and organizations that have contributed to the development of the site in some way—through donations and volunteer work hours.
The local Home Depot store donated lumber. A Morgan Hill Eagle Scout completed a compost bin for his community service project.
The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority provided a grant of about $248,000, which fully funded the construction costs at the new community garden site, according to city staff. The city spent about $71,000 on the site in the form of staff time.
Community garden members’ annual rental fees pay for water and the lease of the site, Jenkins said.
Leadership Morgan Hill is working on a Children’s Garden at the site for their Class of 2020 project. That effort will include a new children’s teaching area, local public art, picnic tables, a log scramble and tree stumps, birdbath, fence, pathway and shaded area. The LMH class is hoping to finish the children’s garden by the end of September, according to Byron Kelly of the LMH Class of 2020.
As soon as the Covid-19 public gathering restrictions are lifted, the garden’s board hopes to resume classes and workshops on site to enhance the community’s knowledge of gardening, Jenkins said.
For more information about the Morgan Hill Community Garden, visit www.mhcommunitygarden.org.
