Blog

Nov 24, 2023

Arch Park Community Garden flourishes with teen

MOUNT VERNON — Peppers, cilantro, green beans and cherry tomatoes were the product of local teens’ hard work at the Arch Park community garden. An open house for the garden was held Wednesday

MOUNT VERNON — Peppers, cilantro, green beans and cherry tomatoes were the product of local teens’ hard work at the Arch Park community garden.

An open house for the garden was held Wednesday afternoon, giving community members a glance into what Knox County teens have accomplished through the summer months in producing their own fruits and vegetables.

Knox County Local Food Council hosted the Green Teen Garden Program along with Knox Public Health, the program’s first year.

The Arch Park Community Garden recently added an extended fence, raised the garden beds and added a children’s garden, said community garden coordinator Erin Salva.

Individual gardeners own most of the plots in the community garden, Salva said.

Six teens took part in the eight-week program, honing a variety of skills such as plotting gardening beds, planting vegetables and fruits, watering produce and knowing when to harvest the fruits of their labor.

The paid program was massive in scope, Salva said, with the teens learning soft and life skills along with growing their own food.

Teen Garden Program Coordinator Sydney Snyder added the teens learned banking and financing information, resume writing skills and how to present themselves at a farmer’s market.

The raised garden beds and the hex-patterned walking surface were completed by TJ Garven, which was part of his Eagle Scout project.

Teen gardener Noah Crowthers, of Mount Vernon, joined the program originally because he thought it’d be a good job to have during the summer, he said.

Crowthers’ dream is to become a cook, and after gaining experience in the teen garden program he says he’s closer to it becoming a reality.

Crowthers planted jalapeños, serranos, basil, cilantro, roma tomatoes, orange cherry tomatoes, squash and cucumber, just to name a few.

During the teen garden program, Crowthers learned how to make salsa from the produce created in the garden as well as canning beans.

For Crowthers, it’s paid off.

“It feels good,” he said. “Because I know I put in the work to grow it and then I can eat it. And I enjoy it more.”

Between 200 to 250 dishes have been created by Crowthers since his time at the community garden, he said.

“I’ve made salad, tacos, I made pasta sauce,” Crowthers said, looking at the garden.

In his time at the teen garden, Crowthers has learned invaluable skills.

“I’ve learned how to plant more things,” he said. “Like what I can plant, like tomatoes deeper (in the soil). Or learn how to pull suckers off of a plant that doesn’t need it, giving a plant more growing time, and what plants to water more or less.”

Some lessons were learned via trial and error, such as peppers wilting if they’re given too much water, Crowthers added.

In the future, the food council and Knox Public Health plan to do the green teen program again, filling Arch Park with fresh local produce.

I am a Report For America corps member at Knox Pages. I report on public education in the county as well as workforce development. I first landed at Knox Pages in June 2022. More by Grant Ritchey