Community garden to offer plots for residents

Residents can soon perfect their green thumbs when land plots become available at Floyd Lamb at Tule Springs, 9200 Tule Springs Road, as part of a community garden.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension social horticulture specialist Angela O’Callaghan made the case for the 22-plot garden to Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Ross.

It was not as easy as showing the absence of community gardens in the Centennial Hills area, she said. She had to convince many in the community that it is possible to grow plants in the desert, something she and her team do across the valley.

“They say, ‘How do you grow things here? Can you grow things here?’ ” she said. “So many people insist you can’t, so we’re here to make sure they know that’s not accurate .”

The raised plots were built by local Eagle Scouts, Ross said. O’Callaghan said raised beds are necessary because of unfriendly soil.

People who rent the beds at Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs will have to meet requirements, such as maintaining their beds and paying a potential fee. Pricing is still being determined. Lectures and workshops also are being offered as part of the project, and volunteer Master Gardeners will be available for lessons and tips about using the boxes , O’Callaghan said.

She said high interest could warrant additional plots.

“If we have an overwhelming desire — if we have 30 people for 22 beds — we’re going to have to get a move on,” she said.

Ross said he sees the park as one of the last agricultural, large green spaces in “a great big city,” and it’s a personal mission of his to introduce more people to it.

He said it also would be great to help residents reduce their grocery bills by teaching them to grow fruits and vegetables.

O’Callaghan said there are 20 community gardens that she knows of in the valley, mostly at senior centers and group homes, and when she first arrived in Las Vegas in 2000, there was only one she knew of at the Doolittle Senior Center, 1930 N. J St.

For more information on programs by the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, contact Elaine Fagin at 702-254-5573 or visit www.unce.unr.edu/counties/clark.