Even in the middle of winter, farmers, ranchers, and home gardeners have essential chores, and at the Brownwood Area Community Garden, carpenter Donald Engle has been busy repairing the raised beds since last December.  “Some of those boards were pretty warped, and the corners were pulling apart.  We had some leftover lumber to use, and all we needed to buy were some screws and straps,” explained Engle.   Now the Garden is nearly ready to welcome a new group of community gardeners.

Engle, 77, is a participant in the Experience Works program, which hires older workers to help local non-profit agencies.  He was placed at the Community Garden last April, and works alongside Garden Coordinator Daniel Graham, who describes the ideal community gardener as “someone who can visit their garden bed every week, use organic methods, and give back a little volunteer time as well, either in the Garden, or by joining our Board of Directors, or helping out with fundraising or public relations.”

The annual lease fee of $50 ($25 for residents of Brownwood Housing Authority) gives access to a large raised bed (4’ X 20’) with drip irrigation already installed.  Gardeners grow the crops of their choice.  Applications are now available at the Brownwood Public Library, and online at www.brownwoodgarden.org.

Even with the background noise of nearby traffic, the garden is peaceful and secluded, in an old baseball field bordered by the woods along Williams Creek, inside the Brownwood Housing Authority Park Homes.  The Garden opened in 2010, with the primary mission of growing produce for direct donation to feed those in need.  Most of the donated produce goes to the nearby Salvation Army Service Center, which serves a free lunch on weekdays.  Other Garden missions include leasing space, educational programs, and job training and internships.  The Garden also actively supports the Brown Co. Farmers Market.

New gardener Suzanne Ferraro leased a raised bed in 2014, and now has joined the Garden’s Board of Directors.  She says she especially enjoyed “meeting other gardeners, the Garden Leadership Training class, and taking home the vegetables that I watched grow.”

Limited funding and staff mean that the Garden is only open to lease holders, or when Donald or Daniel are working, most weekday mornings.  “Ideally, our gate would be open all day, every day, like a public park,” Graham says, “but for now, the best time to come is every second and fourth Saturday, from 10-1, for our Visit or Volunteer sessions.”  The Garden is at 1514 Dublin St. behind the CTO Building.  For more information, visit the Brownwood Area Community Garden on facebook, or call 641-9029.