FREMONT - From the May Street Community Garden's 14 raised wooden garden boxes built on a small, previously abandoned lot, neighborhood residents can take their pick of free broccoli, green beans, eggplant, red potatoes and nine varieties of peppers.
It's the brainchild of Roger Hart, director of the nonprofit Micah House, on the opposite side of May Street.
As Hart talked about the community garden Monday, May Street resident Ezekiel Jones walked up and asked if there were any banana peppers left.
When Hart began working on his community project earlier this year, Jones acknowledged he wasn't sure if the garden would be a hit with residents or survive the foraging of wild animals.
"But it's working out," Jones said, as he filled a white container with a couple handfuls of banana peppers.
Hart purchased the 120-by-30-foot May Street lot, located at 520 May Street, from the Sandusky County Land Bank last year.
A deadly fire occurred in 2013 in a house on the lot where the garden is now located.
Brenda Shorty, 42, and her 2-year-old daughter, Vinesha Darden, died in the November 2013 May Street house fire.
In 2016, the city tore down the abandoned, fire-damaged house.
Hart said the lot had been up for sheriff's sale, but it didn't sell. He said he approached the county land bank about the property and purchased it last fall.
This spring, Hart began work on building the community garden.
Seven different sponsors donated $150 apiece for soil and wood used for the 4-by-8-foot garden boxes.
After building the boxes at home, Hart brought them to May Street in April and began filling them with soil.
He received a donation of 10 yards of horse manure and combined it with 10 yards of compost to make soil for the garden boxes/
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Hart planted various vegetables, fruits, and herbs in the boxes.
Through word-of-mouth, neighborhood residents learned about the garden and initially went to Micah House to pick out food to take home.
In the last month or so, neighbors have come to the garden and started picking their own herbs, fruits and vegetables, Hart said, including basil, cucumbers, tomatoes, and red-hot ghost peppers.
"The response in the neighborhood has been very good," Hart said.
Some neighbors have already asked Hart to plant collard greens.
Hart said he's open to suggestions on what to plant and plans to add between six and eight additional garden boxes to the May Street garden.
He said he wants to poll neighbors next year before he plants to find out what worked and what new fruits and vegetable residents would like to see growing in 2019.
dacarson@gannett.com
419-334-1046
Twitter: @DanielCarson7
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