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​​​​​​​Gardening Update at RML

​​In October 2021, we were able to get a look into the ins and outs of the Club RML Gardening Program. In this article, we will revisit this initiative to see what, and how, they have grown over the last two years.

Cindi Schwartz is an Electron Microscopist for NIAID. She also serves as the current coordinator and recruiter for the RML Community Garden. She is responsible for much of its promotion, from fliers to emails, and she even facilitates discussions in the Club RML MS Teams channel. She hopes her various methods of updates can help keep the excitement about the garden going, especially when activity picks up later in the year. Currently, the plots are inactive, save for a few garlic bulbs waiting to emerge as spring proceeds.

“[Hamilton has a] short growing season at 97 days, where Bethesda is 191 days!” Cindi points out.

Despite this disadvantage, their last year was the best year they’d had in quite a while given the rare and exceptional weather. During their growing season, they were able to produce beets, carrots, cucumbers, kohlrabi, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, strawberries, tomatillos and tomatoes. They also had a plot of flowers just for supporting pollinators.

They were able to do this given their expanded growing capacity. They now have 12 beds and an additional raised bed designed for gardeners with mobility difficulties. The standard beds are fenced to protect crops from rabbits. The plants also run on sustainable fueling, as the garden is regularly supplemented with free compost from the City of Hamilton.

Though the recent yields have been prosperous, not everything has been easy leading up to now. Cindi identified the biggest challenge they face is finding enough gardeners to tend the plots and keeping them motivated throughout the year. Their initial pick-n-pay initiative, trading vegetables to employees in exchange for donations, ended up falling flat.

“I think here in the Bitterroot Valley, there are so many local farms and a robust farmers market that most folks can get their veggies from just about anywhere.” Cindi writes, “Also, many people garden at home, so they don’t need more veggies from Club RML.”

Last year, however, they came up with a new approach that worked wonders for the garden. Since each plot received different amounts of shade and water, that meant each plot could only grow certain kinds of vegetables. Instead of individuals picking different lots for the season, they decided to have everyone work as a team in a sort of ‘co-op’ program.

“When we all just plant what grows best in the right plot, we all get the most from the harvest. Also, folks who put in more work were there to harvest more veggies, and that felt fair.”

This advice has proved helpful for RML’s garden, and it could prove so for your garden or green initiative as well. If you are interested in joining Club RML’s Community Garden or learning more about them, contact cindi.schwartz@nih.gov​ for additional details.​​

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Did you know? The most impactful way to improve the sustainability of your diet is to reduce food waste. Similar to the "3 R's" of waste management that begin with "Reduce", we should aim to reduce our food waste as a foundational goal. To learn more about sustainability​​, please visit the NEMS T​raining webpage to view a short (20 minute) NIH environmental awareness training video.​​