KINGMAN – The weather is warming, and spring is on the horizon – generally, the time to get your garden started, although there is a possibility of one last freeze before the winter season is officially over. Gardening is excellent for your health. If you feel like you don’t have the space for a garden, or maybe you don’t have the know-how or tools to create a garden, you’re in luck. The Dig-It Community Garden in Kingman has an opportunity for residents to grow their fruits and vegetables.
Dig-It Kingman Community Gardens was founded in 2014 as the brainchild of Ron Tanner, the then-Area Coordinator for Master Gardeners. The idea was to create a safe space for community members to plant and maintain raised bed gardens. Tanner and other master gardeners pulled inspiration from other community gardens, such as a community garden located in Payson. Bringing what he had learned back from Central Arizona, Tanner got together with Sue West, Denise Neath, and others to come up with a plan to fund a community garden here in Kingman. Kingman Regional Medical Center (KRMC) and local churches were among the initial donors, including a donation from New Life Church of the acre of land needed.
According to Dig-It’s mission statement, its intentions are, “To provide a locally affordable source for fresh fruits and vegetables.” The mission also mentions Dig-Its desire to “build a stronger sense of community in the Kingman and surrounding areas through a cooperative and enjoyable gardening experience.”
The garden organizers aim to minimize the use of chemicals and pesticides and encourage members to use drip-style irrigation techniques to conserve water. Dig-It also asks members to do their best to plant sustainable crops suited for the Kingman climate. The Community Garden Administrators aim to help members with gardening education. They combine education resources from Master Gardeners, local garden clubs, and horticulture experts. Members are encouraged to share their growth with less fortunate members of the community.
Dig-Its staff is entirely volunteer-based and is always seeking to grow its staff. It also asks its member to volunteer time for garden improvement projects and aiding with the children’s garden area. The garden has received grants in the form of seeds and education, and demonstrations from the Hualapai tribe. Children’s garden and event organizer Denise Neath explained that in the beginning, they had a commercial potato grower come and speak about growing potatoes and had donated 20 pounds of seed potatoes. “To this day, four years later, we still have potatoes coming up, and that was fun to have, and it was educational,” she said.
Dig-It also receives assistance from county jail inmates, both from the juvenile and adult correction facilities to complete maintenance and weeding. Members of the garden work to improve the garden and work to help the community at large. Barbra Morton, community garden member and member of the Cerbat Garden Club helps maintain the Garden Club’s plot. Their plot grows flowers to send to Living Waters Hospice in Golden Valley. Morton said, “One of the members had even been talking about maybe, some of the flowers even going to hospice here in Kingman. It hasn’t been decided yet, though.”
New volunteers can stop by any Friday from 9 to 10 a.m. during the growing season. Those who wish to volunteer can also go to the Dig-Its website and fill out the volunteer application online.
The garden is in need of building material, including projects such as re-decking the children’s garden building, garage door panels and composite decking materials. They use any building materials donated and often repurpose old sections of culvert tubing and PVC pipe into planting areas, irrigation components, and decorations for the garden area. They ask that residents bring suitable yard waste to the garden to be converted into compost fertilizer. They have areas arranged to accept leaves, grass clippings, and other such yard waste materials.
The community garden holds many events throughout the year ranging from educational, where members can learn from lectures and demonstrations and online training classes conducted by master gardeners. It also holds a 5k running event called the Dig-It Dash to raise funds that are used to improve the gardens. Some other events being held have been Native American planting techniques, aboriginal culture and practices surrounding planting and harvesting crops.
For younger community members, the garden offers events as well. Some such events include children’s gardening classes, storytime, and pumpkin patches.
If you would like to learn more about Dig-It Community garden contact Dig-Its website at digitkingmancommunitygardens.org or on Facebook at digitkingman.
Chad Walker