As many residents know it is difficult to garden in West Milford.  The ground is too rocky and most yards don’t get enough sun.  This same experience prompted Sustainable West Milford members to explore their options.  The idea was to find a sunny piece of land and create a Community Garden where residents could gather to garden & learn.

Soon after the search began, Anne Thornton, owner of Apples Acres on Union Valley Road, generously donated ½ an acre of her property to Sustainable West Milford for their Community Garden.

The Community Garden is an organic garden.  There are no chemicals allowed on or in the soil.  Twenty six West Milford families utilize the plots in the garden, growing vegetables, herbs and flowers.  Members are comprised of master gardeners and novice growers, children, retired folks, and every one in between.

In addition to members growing in their own individual plots, the Community Garden has several communal garden areas.  The care of vegetables planted in the communal areas is shared by the garden members.  Members sign up for a week of watering and/or weeding the communal gardens.  At harvest time all of the garden members share in the bounty.  These areas of the garden are dedicated to crops that spread out and take up a lot of room, such as:  strawberries, raspberries, corn, pumpkin, winter squash, etc.

Sustainable West Milford also creates educational opportunities for the garden members through the Garden Monthly Meetings.  Each month there is a different topic and a guest speaker.  Meetings are open to the public, so please join us!

Learn how the Community Garden transformed from a fallow, former cow pasture into a thriving vegetable garden!  Look at pictures of the Grand Opening or the cornucopia at harvest time, 2007.  See how the Community Garden expanded in spring of 2008.   Check out what is new at the Community Garden on their Message Board.

If you have any questions or comments about the Community Garden, please contact the garden director, Katie Hayes-Natale, at crazyhayes_wm@yahoo.com.

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