Community plots give gardener room to grow

It all started with sod.

That led, as it so often does, to a small home garden.

Lured in by the simpler tasks surrounding his new Gurnee home, he found himself progressively involved in propagation, not to mention soil amendments and surplus distribution.

And before Jay Meyer knew what hit him, he was signing up for not one, but two large community garden plots. That's what happens when gardeners get hooked.

But rather than letting his proliferation of peas go to waste in his garden at the Prairie Crossing development in Grayslake, Meyer decided to join Plant a Row for the Hungry by dropping off his excess veggies at the Warren Township food pantry in Gurnee.

It's just the logical thing to do, he says.

"It works out great because you usually have too much," Meyer said.

Plant a Row encourages gardeners to drop any excess from their plots at area food pantries, and asks that they plant one row of food and dedicate it for the needy. The program is sponsored nationally by the Garden Writers Association and organized locally by the Daily Herald and Northern Illinois Food Bank.

Meyer's love of vegetable gardening started small. After the horticultural novice put down all that sod seven years ago for his new home, he created a small patch in his back yard for old standards like tomatoes and squash.

Not surprisingly, the little plot left him wanting more - like potatoes, onions, carrots - which is where the community plots enter the picture.

He still has his home garden, but the community plots let him grow such space hogs as squash and pumpkin along with beets, peppers and tomatoes.

Meyer says he and his wife eat much of what he grows, but if there's anything they can't get to in time, or there's just too much even to cook, he drives it over to Warren Township.

And they know just how to put the veggies to good use at the township food pantry - by handing them out to clients who seek assistance.