Master gardeners' expertise yields results

Rows of tomatoes, lettuce, green beans and carrots seem a little out of place among the numerous floral beds at Friendship Park Conservatory.

But that very fact draws visitors' attention, requiring they stop, check out the veggies, and ask questions.

That's all part of the Master Gardening team's plan to pique gardeners' interests and show them how to help themselves as well as their neighbors, coordinator Theresa Jones said.

They built a vegetable garden this spring at the Mount Prospect conservatory that gives budding Master Gardener interns hands-on experience, helps supply a food pantry and tells area residents about Plant a Row for the Hungry.

"We wanted to show people what vegetables are most simple to grow in this climate," she said.

And once they decided to do that, they needed a way to make sure the vegetables didn't go to waste.

That's where Plant a Row for the Hungry enters the picture.

The campaign sponsored locally by the Daily Herald urges gardeners to plant a little extra in their plots and donate any surplus to area food pantries and soup kitchens.

More than 40 agencies in Cook, Kane, Lake, DuPage and McHenry counties agreed to accept such donations and distribute them to their clients.

The crew at Friendship Park already is fielding a steady stream of questions from visitors about their vegetable garden, as well as the public service campaign, Jones said.

And providing answers is the group's specialty. Master Gardeners from the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension are volunteers who help home gardeners succeed by fielding questions, providing expertise and working with them to solve problems.

In designing the 15-by-20-foot garden in Mount Prospect, volunteer George Keller selected a variety of vegetables, including green peppers, spinach, beets, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, beans and peas. There are herbs like oregano and curly parsley, as well.

Keller said he wanted to show folks just how many vegetables will actually do well in this area.

So far, Jones said, everything's thriving, even if it has required daily watering because of the heat. The benefit of that, though, she said, is it gives visitors yet another opportunity to ask the Master Gardeners about the plot and the future of its yield.

If you know of an interesting Plant a Row for the Hungry project, please let us know by calling the hotline (847) 806-4277 or e-mailing us at plantarow@dailyherald.com.