Troy Community Gardens

The growin’ o’ the veggies shall now commence!
I’m in my third year as a gardener at Troy Community Gardens. Before that, I’ve held community garden plots in Sun Prairie and De Forest for many years, in addition to my own home gardens. I always dreamed about the day I’d move back to Madison, where I grew up, and have a plot at Troy. It is pretty much the whole enchilada in the community garden world.
You can Google Community Groundworks to read about all their amazing works, which I won’t go into here, for brevity’s sake. It’s an impressive list.
Personally, my actual experience gardening here has been good. Not perfect, but good. Although rototilling is available, it’s generally believed to not be a great thing to do to your soil structure, so I’ve never done it. Every year, I regret that decision. The soil is heavy clay and has more deep rooted aggressive weeds than I have ever seen anywhere. It’s exhausting to keep up with, although each year I’ve been able to gain a little more headway. From large grasses to pigweed to dandelions to Creeping Charlie to thistles to very invasive skunky mint, it’s a lot.
My garden yields here have been smaller overall than any other garden I’ve ever had. Certain things, like peas and cucumbers, just don’t do well for me here at all. Other things do great, like flowers of every kind. Every year there is a different challenge, from rodents overrunning the place in drought years to swarms of flea beetles every spring. But that’s garden life, in general.
My main concern is that the organic standard and rules are not consistently upheld. I’ve seen people liberally dusting their crops with pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers, all of which are banned in the contract we all sign. When I have complained to management about this, I’m told «it’s the language barrier, they don’t understand». Well, someone needs to make them understand, right? I find this very frustrating and discouraging.
Another thing that I don’t like is that, weed growth being what it is there, they insist that you bag up and cart away all weeds pulled and dispose of them elsewhere. Where are we supposed to discard them? Everywhere else I’ve community-​gardened has had a weed pile off at one end of the property. Weeds are heavy, VERY heavy, and bagging and putting them in a landfill is not the answer. Most people like me who live in apartments cannot just start a discarded weeds pile at their homes, either. I also don’t like that people are allowed to, and often do, smoke while gardening. This pretty much ruins the experience for nonsmokers who appreciate clean air.
Among the many pluses of Troy Gardens is a nice supply of shovels and other garden implements neatly kept for all to use; ample water supply (although they don’t turn it on until late May, which is problematic for putting in early crops like spinach and potatoes); the ability to plant perennials like asparagus, and no fall cutoff date for removing everything from your plot. You can garden year round if you build the proper cold frames, etc. out there. They are also very open minded as far as what you can put in your garden. Many people build huts and other interesting structures. Also, most other gardeners are friendly and helpful. I’ve made some good friends there, and we share tasks, advice, and garden bounty at times.

Troy Gardens is a gem, a staple, a breath of fresh air and the exact reason I can say I love and appreciate Madison, WI.
Several non-​profit groups — the Madison Area Community Land Trust (MACLT), the Urban Open Space Foundation (UOSF), and the Community Action Coalition Garden Program (CAC) jointed together to form the Troy Gardens Coalition. Several representatives from the University of Wisconsin joined the Coalition in 1996 when the State added a 16 acre landlocked undeveloped area to the north of the original site to the surplus list.
What does that mean? It means we have a huge community garden, community farm, and a place to support local gardeners and farmers digging into the land, as well as buying food from them. The entire garden is organic, pesticide free, and plots are available to rent from $ 10 to $ 65, depending on a person’s income level. Troy Gardens supports class integration, and that is something I can stand behind and support 100%.
I first learned about Troy Gardens while taking an international social work class at my alma mater. One of our amazing summer field trips was to the Gardens to meet local gardeners, hear their stories, and see what organic farming and gardening actually means, and what it does for the community.
At Troy Gardens we learned what sustainable agriculture actually looks like, and what it means for an individual gardener who buys a plot to provide food for their family. It was great seeing people of all races/​ethnicities/​cultures and classes coming to the gardens to work their plots of land. In sections of our community where it is simply unheard of to have access to fresh produce, or one is too broke to venture to places rife with class segregation, like WIlly Street Co-​op, or Whole Foods, for excellent produce — they can instead spend 10 bux and buy a plot of land that they can grow all of their own organic fruits and veggies on for as long as the weather permits, and have an impact on household food security. Not only are there garden plots but there is also a farm where the goods are sold. Whether you want to be a local gardener, or simply support a local gardener, Troy Gardens offers it all.
You cannot get more grassroots than Troy Gardens. It is a wonderful place to visit in the summertime. The Gardens do so much for our community, through group education and youth projects, and through providing options for people, and access to fresh, organically grown foods usually only reserved for the upper echelons of our society.