Interested in health, sustainability, good food, and growing things?! UofL's Garden Commons next to the Baptist Center is a community space for learning about organic urban agriculture, sustainable food systems, & building resilient community. UofL's Gardens are open to participation throughout the year from students, staff, faculty, & community members. Everyone is welcome to share in the harvest
! You need not wait for an invitation to get involved, but please join us as we gather regularly throughout the year for group workdays and a series of practical, hands-on workshops about how to manage different aspects of a chemical-free garden & greenhouse. Several sustainable urban farming permaculture practices are in use at the garden, including:
1. Rainwater capture from the roof for irrigation in a 500-gallon rain barrel system;
2. Composting to generate organic fertilizer in bins where you can toss your food scraps and organics (no meat, bones, or dairy products, please);
3. Eleven raised beds, herb planters, and several in-ground beds;
4. Fruit trees (apple, plum, and native serviceberry, persimmon, & pawpaw), berry bushes (raspberry, blackberry, and strawberry), & an asparagus bed;
5. Maple trees, whose sap can be tapped in January/February to make syrup!;
6. Bike parking and an outdoor classroom space;
7. Birdhouses installed by the ELSB Animal Welfare Committee, spring 2024.
8. Sharing Stations: donation bins for the UofL Free Store, a Little Free Library (installed with the partnership of UofL's Resilient Families Project), and a Pineal Trade Station for the free exchange of excess produce and plants (houseplants, cuttings, native plants, etc.). A second garden and food forest at UofL is the Urban & Public Affairs Garden behind the building at 426 W. (along the brick alley behind Bettie Johnson Hall). Weekly group workdays & regular workshops are held at both gardens. The UPA Garden has only 4 raised beds for annual crops, but it features more perennial food forest species. The UPA Garden features:
1. A large, season-extending greenhouse with a solar panel to power the ventilation fans and aquaponics pump (we've experimented with an aquaponics system in the greenhouse to raise fish and use their waste as fertilizer for plants grown in the system).
2. Rainwater capture from the roof for irrigation in 4 rain barrel systems;
3. Four raised beds and two herb planters;
4. An orchard featuring peach, apple, cherry, mulberry, fig, and native serviceberry, pawpaw, persimmon, hazelnut, & passion fruit ("maypops");
5. Two compost bins, five rain barrels to capture water from the roof for irrigation;
6. No-mow areas, including some edible species such as sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes), herbs, and berries; and
7. An apiary with two managed honey beehives. Additional updates and information can be found on the Garden Commons Group Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gardencommons/
