Many people think of gardens when they think of the summer and spring time. Creighton University is no different. Garden plots were sold and planted in the Ignation Gardens on 18th Street, between Burt and Cumming.
Garden plot hopefuls were put into a lottery type of selection. A week-long ad in the Creightonian and online told people to contact John Schwede, lead groundskeeper for 12 years at Creighton. Past gardeners were offered plots first, and if they wanted to keep their plot from previous years, they were able to do so. There were 25 people who asked to have their names put into the lottery for nine available plots.
“As it happens, multiple people that won the lottery did not want the plot that they won anyway,” Schwede said. “So, I had to go back into the lottery for a few more names, but we finally got them filled.”
Garden plots run from April 1 to October 31.
“If there are still plants that are producing after October 31, then the deadline can be overlooked if there are still plants bearing fruit,” Schwede said.
Garden plots were available to anyone willing to buy one. The group of buyers of the plots of gardens varies greatly. Some people are doctors, nurses and some are from the general staff. Professors, mechanical shop workers and students were also among the buyers.
There are many different reasons for someone wanting to purchase a garden through the university.
“Some people like to eat fresh produce as much as they can,” Schwede said. “It tastes better, and you know that nothing has been treated with any fertilizers. Some of the gardeners just like to get outside occasionally and garden in the fresh air. Others just don’t have the amount of space that they need at their houses or apartments (for his/her garden), so it is a great place to go. For everyone, it is very convenient having the garden very close to the Creighton campus.”
The gardens hold importance for several different reasons for different people.
“I think it builds strong community, encourages eating fresh organic vegetables and teaches you the importance of the earth, and appreciation for what God provides,” Janine Ter Kuile, former Cardoner Associate and staff member said. “It brings you a satisfying relationship with the cycle of planting, growing and harvesting, something we do in our everyday lives, but this is so much fun. It also gives so much back for so little effort.”
Ter Kuile also helps connect with the community through her plot.
“As a community garden, I want to extend this experience with the homeless by offering to let a mother and children from the shelter help me plant the tomatoes this spring and let them come to watch it grow and pick tomatoes for themselves,” Ter Kuile said.
Most of the gardeners know how to take care of the vegetables that they plant. The questions about things that they do not know about can be brought to Schwede, or another gardener or groundskeeper.
“If there are any questions that we cannot answer, my boss Jessica Heller, who has a degree in horticulture and is very knowledgeable, should be able to help them out,” Schwede said.
Each gardener has the responsibility to maintain their own garden plot during the growing season, which entails keeping all of their own plants fairly contained in their plot area while trying to keep the walkways open.
With so much interest in having an individual garden, Creighton is looking into options for more availability for gardens.
“We are looking into expanding the garden program if the increasing interest continues into the future,” Schwede said. “We have many sites over the campus, and we will just have to figure out the proper logistics of where we should place it.”
All of the work getting the plots ready for the gardeners was done before any of the plots were purchased.
“We did a lot of work to the plots last year when we made boxes around all of the plots and raised them to have their own good soil,” Schwede said. “We also went from a rain-catch type of watering system to actually paying to get a hose and spigot on another Creighton owned building that is just adjacent to the garden. This year all we did was add Omigrow to all of the plots, which is a natural fertilizer that we buy for most of the flower beds on campus. It is really good for all plants and will eventually get tilled into each garden plot.”
Overall response to the gardens has been very favorable.
“Creighton facilities personnel made this experience fun.” Ter Kuile said.