Carson City Community Gardens with Alice Bloyd

Alice Bloyd is an enthusiastic participant in the Carson City Community Gardens project, sponsored by the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, and has been with the project since it began five years ago.

The members must attend an orientation class and other classes at the extension office or at the site and pay a $5 fee for water each season.

The gardens are located behind the Lone Mountain Cemetery on Beverly Drive. They are fenced and locked so only members can enter using the combination lock.

The city owns the property and possibly could add a little more, since the plots at first were 4x8 feet, and were too small to do any serious gardening. Now they are 16x4 feet, but Bloyd says she has to do quite a bit of trimming to keep her garden within the boundaries and not grow over the walkways. The plots are numbered and marked off with string.

"The ground is prepared and the mulch is added for us," said Bloyd. "We can add more fertilizer, but no chemicals. This year we can use Miracle Grow."

She starts to plant around May 15.

"I plant yellow squash, tomatoes, green beans. Oh yes, I trained the beans to grow up on poles and they looked so pretty," she said with a smile.

"I plant radishes each week, but I don't plant lettuce. It attracts the bugs."

Bloyd goes to the garden every day and spends about 15 minutes watering and pulling weeds.

"Oh, I've had trouble," she said.

"The first year the bunnies came and I lost all my beets, carrots and turnips. The quail loved my little sprouts too. I went to the hardware store and got some material that acts like a hot house to cover the plants. That took care of the critters. I can even water with the material in place.

"When the plants got bigger I took the material off because the critters didn't like the larger and tougher plants. We can't use any sprays except the soap-based kind - there are rules we must follow. When the growing season is over, the members are required to leave their plots as they were found. They can sign up for the same plot next year.

"We have no place to grow at our home because we live in a condo. It is so great to have my own garden and we live fairly nearby. It's work, but fun, especially when the plants come up and I can see them grow."

For information on the community garden, call University of Nevada Cooperative Extension at 887-2252.