Community garden up and growing

Dave Winder spends some time hoeing weeds at the McCook Community Garden. (Lorri Sughroue/McCook Daily Gazette)

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Despite the lack of volunteers, Dave Winder's faith in McCook's first community garden is still unflagging.

Winder's "If it's planted, they will come," philosophy will take a while to get going, he figures.

"It'll happen," he said, while hoeing weeds between the pepper plants. "I didn't expect too much the first year, anyway."

Dave Winder's grandkids, Grady Lentz, from left, 3-years-old, Gracie Lentz, 4, and Colton Lentz, 7, help out with the watering. (Lorri Sughroue/McCook Daily Gazette)

It's been a tough year to grow a garden, with the 100-degree weather, little rain and high winds. Situated on West Seventh and Q, on a little more than an acre of property donated by John and Betty Nothgnagel, the garden has had its ups and downs. The broccoli and cauliflower plants were wiped out in one week, thanks to a little yellow bug, Winder said, and a soaker hose with algae damaged other vegetables. But all of the 80 pepper plants are thriving, as well as the beans, pumpkins, eggplants and other vegetables.

With the current dearth of volunteers, Winder's wife, Terri and three grandkids are taking up the slack, with watering and rototilling.

So far, there are 20 zucchinis, eight eggplants, 30 tomatos, 42 watermelons, 16 pumpkins, six okras, and 57 cucumber plants. And onions. Lots of onions.

A sign marks a community garden on a former sod farm in northwest McCook. (Bruce Crosby/McCook Daily Gazette)

There's also a 16'x16' strawberry patch with 20 plants and six, 50-feet long rows of beans with six more rows to be planted.

Vegetables harvested will be donated to the "Feed the Flock" community dinners hosted by the McCook United Methodist Church.

Winder said he could still use 500 feet of soaker hose, 45 heavy-gauge tomato cages and a small cultivator.

With hot, windy conditions familiar to Southwest Nebraska, area, "Soaker hoses are the only way to go out here, not sprinklers," he said.

The garden is a ministry of the "Feed the Flock" ministry at the McCook United Methodist Church. Anyone interested in helping can contact the church at 345-2445 or Winder at 340-8733.

You can also view updates on the garden on Facebook at "McCook Community Garden."