Text Box: FREE HOME GROWN TOMATOES by Supervisor Mike Zowniriw, 5/2009 The catch is you have to grow them yourself! Richland Township has 38 acres of open space next to the One Room Schoolhouse on Station Road which has been set aside for a park. It is my idea to establish a Community Garden in conjunction with this new park, and I have made plans to do so this growing season. Along with our Assistant Manager for Special Projects, Joe Geib, and our Roadmaster, Thom Roeder, we have laid out some plans to get started. I invite our residents to participate. Very soon, local farmer and all around good guy, Tom Stoneback, will be plowing the field. Keep an eye out for this, because a section next to the schoolhouse will be set aside for our local gardeners, and will be left unsprayed of pesticides or herbicides so the garden can be organic. An eighth to a quarter acre will be divided up into garden plots about 12' x 20'. This will easily accommodate about 40 plots. The actual number will depend on how many people sign up and how much help we are able to get from participants and from our road crew. Some rules and details still to come, but here is what we have so far: It will be organic ergo no chemicals. The road crew may be able to provide mulch from locally collected leaves and shrubbery. No metal stakes or plant supports, wood only. Metal left behind damages expensive farm equipment! No permanent structures. BYOB (bring your own bucket) or There is an old hand water pump next to the schoolhouse. We will see if it can be made to operate. We may be able to provide an on-site water tank. We may be able to collect water in barrels from the schoolhouse roof. Gardeners may work out a solution. No corn planting is permitted! A deposit of $15.00 is required for each lot. A $5.00 refund will be given at the end of the growing season provided all leftover stakes, ties, harvested plants, etc. have been cleared from your plot. Plots must be maintained. Abandoned plots will forfeit their deposit. Parking will only be permitted in the rear and adjacent to the schoolhouse! Hours will be sunrise to sunset. In addition, please contact the Township office if you have interest in establishing a mountain bike trail through the woods of this tract. I have biked through the area myself, but would like to organize a couple of trail scouting missions, especially with any experienced mountain bikers, to plot out and establish an actual trail. There is even the potential here to create a bike race in the future. Picnic tables in this area would also be nice. It is a bit wet and swampy so potential sites will need to be identified and prepared for a little foot traffic.  And lastly, let’s restore that historic schoolhouse! Who wants to help? Carpenters, roofers, plumbers, painters? Show off your skills. Add this building to your resume!   This is your park. Offering residents a personal stake in its future promotes a sense of ownership. There is no way to make a better community than for residents to be involved in what they share. To sign up now or for information, call the Township office 215-536-4066.

RICHLAND TOWNSHIP SUPERVISOR 2004-2010

MIKE ZOWNIRIW
Text Box: RICHLAND TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY GARDENS Text Box: For more information, call the Township office 215-536-4066.
Text Box: Look for the Community Gardens on Station Road next to the Old School House.

Photos by Mike Zowniriw unless otherwise noted.

Photo by Amy Zowniriw
Text Box: HOME GROWN by Mike Zowniriw, 10/2009 Well, the growing season will soon be over. I hope our community gardeners enjoyed their gardening experience and bounty, and will plan on joining us again next year. I know watering was difficult, but hopefully the big blue plastic rain barrel I made was of some use. It will remain at its present location. I have the parts needed to restore the old hand water pump, and I plan to install it soon. The plots that were used this year will have less unwanted growth next year. Those of you who participated this season know which ones they are, so be sure you sign up for those same ones next year. You will then have less weeding to do. FYI, it takes three years of chemical free planting to be considered organic. Next year will be year two.    Following are a couple of responses from our first gardeners: Kathy & Mario Piccolo wrote on 9/24/09: “We still have some summer squash growing…. As far as our experience, we loved it! We now know what to plant next year and what not to bother with. It was fun and exciting to go over every week and see what was going on. I have fond memories of gardening with my father as a child and it felt good to be able to do that again and have some success. I'm sure he would be proud of my efforts. We would definitely do this again and hope more people participate. It was a great experience. The only drawback was the weeds. I would encourage people to give it a try, especially as a ‘family project’". Sue Zomberg wrote on 9/25/09: “....The gardening season is really not over! Fall produce is still growing! I for one just started my planting on July 5. Fall vegetables don't get planted until the end of July usually so I am still growing!! I have had a great crop of green beans just finished. I am watching my eggplants grow and am anxiously awaiting zucchini and fall squash!!!” I thank you for your comments! I am delighted that you had fun, and it is special to hear you share your fond memories. I am glad that the weather has been beneficial to fall crops, and that gardens are still thriving! I hope gardeners will also share their experiences with each other. For me, there’s nothing better on a hot summer day than a home-grown tomato sprinkled with a little Adobo seasoning. Hopefully more residents will join in next year! As I have written before, the Township has plans to restore the One-Room Schoolhouse next to the Community Garden, and to build a Township Park on the farmed area. I hope residents will participate in the decision making that will go into this project. Just call the Township (215-536-4066) for info on how you can be a part of it. The Community Garden will continue as part of the new park, and your interest will assure its success. Thanks again for your participation. veg1.JPG

Photo by Amy Zowniriw