ANTIOCH, IL (JULY, 2011) – The city of Antioch in conjunction with the newly formed Environmental Commission is proud to be home to a community wide public garden. Located on Depot Street, just east of Main Street, this garden is home to 22 10×20 plots. What began as a small garden with 14 plots, due to community demand, eight more were just recently added and are available for purchase for $25 each.

The gardeners have been quite creative in their planting. Many plots have tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, and lettuce along with onions, kohlrabi, cucumbers and herbs. Some plots have marigolds interspaced with vegetables and others have creative watering features. Some gardeners have added composted manure while others are using vermicompost or fish emulsion to enhance their crops. If gardeners are getting a late start, crops such as lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, beets, radishes, kohlrabi, broccoli and late cabbage can be planted now in the new plots with much success.

“This is the first project of the Environmental Commission and we are so thankful for the support of the mayor, village trustees and community members who have made this ‘growing and giving’ garden possible,” says Melonnie Hartl, garden coordinator.

By ‘growing and giving’ Hartl refers to the agreement of many of the gardeners who plan on donating a portion of their harvest to Open Arms Mission to help those in need. “The Antioch Community Garden is truly a community project and represents the spirit of what Antioch is all about,” adds Hartl.

Next year, the Environmental Commission intends on adding even more plots for gardening. For more information on the Community Garden, please contact Melonnie Hartl at 847-395-6963. For more information on Open Arms Mission visit www.openarmsmission.org.