Local Food Production Initiative's Community Gardens

Locations: Homestead Village (924 Plantation Boulevard), Summit Street in Fairhope (between Morphy and St. James avenues)

Beds: Both gardens have 20 4- by 12-foot raised beds, which help the soil drain more effectively.

Cost: $30 per year

Requirements: Must live or work in Fairhope

More information: www.fairhopelocalfood.org

 Vegetable gardening alone can be challenging, but the founders of the nonprofit organization Local Food Production Initiative created a way to help even the most hesitant gardeners give growing their own food a shot.

Fairhope Community Gardens

In 2010, Fairhope's first community garden began at Homestead Village, and in 2011, LFPI opened another garden on Summit Street.

“Initially, we pay the cost of what it takes to get ready to plant,” says JoAnn Wettlaufer, LFPI treasurer. “And with the help of the gardeners themselves, everything actually gets accomplished.”

Teamwork is the secret to the community garden model, Wettlaufer said. People who may not have the space, resources, knowledge or bravery to start a garden at home can instead garden with others, asking for advice, sharing tools and helping each other stay accountable in caring for their plants.

“I had never gardened before at all, so it's been a great learning experience for me,” says Robin Dilsaver of Spanish Fort, who teaches at Fairhope Elementary School. “I love that I have the opportunity to learn on a casual basis because somebody else might be in the garden that day. It's about getting to know the other gardeners.”

Health

Dilsaver says she and her husband also eat more healthful food because they have a constant stream of fresh vegetables from the garden.

“I'm eating a lot more vegetables than I used to, and absolutely a lot more fresh vegetables than I used to eat,” she says.

And having a garden lends itself to sharing with others — sometimes, Dilsaver says, there are certain crops that produce more than she could have ever imagined when she planted the seeds.

“For a while there, we were mass producing banana peppers, and my husband said, when is banana pepper season over?” Dilsaver says.

Savings

The fee for a plot at the community gardens is $30 per year, and although there is a waiting list, once you're in, you can renew indefinitely, Wettlaufer says.

Dilsaver says growing her own vegetables has been a major money saver. Her goal is to start as many of her plants from seeds as possible.

“The seed packets don't cost very much, and you can get so much produce from just one seed,” Dilsaver says. “One little seed is just a few cents, and you get dollars worth of produce out of that one seed.”

And instead of buying expensive fertilizer or pesticides, Dilsaver tries to garden organically, using compost to fertilize and natural or common sense methods to keep pests and diseases away from her plants. The workshops LFPI offers to the public have taught her many techniques/

“I get a lot out of those workshops,” she says. “The one about pest control, he gave us some really simple tips, like for squash and zucchini, you just wrap mesh around the stem and it keeps the pests away.”

In 2008, Fairhope's nonprofit Local Food Production Initiative was formed with the goals of promoting farmers markets, establishing community gardens, compiling a directory of local food sources and providing public education about local foods. Visit www.fairhopelocalfood.org for more information.