ELY- Ely has some new television personalities, but they aren’t talking. Given that they’re a bunch of vegetables, they didn’t have much to say when the Timberjay dropped by for an interview.
The produce of the community garden at the Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic on Miners Drive will be the featured guests in a segment of “Great Gardening,” the only gardening show on PBS North Channel 8 out of Duluth. The channel describes “Great Gardening” as “the Northland’s only TV show that’s focused on the unique joys and challenges of gardening in Zone 3 and 4.” Every episode features local gardening success stories, today’s trends, and questions and answers with their panel of experts.
“The ‘Great Gardening’ show put out a call for gardens for their fall season,” said Ely-based Master Gardener Sally Koski. “We submitted and they contacted us.”
“A. J. Larson from “Great Gardening” visited Ely earlier this month to film the community garden for the show,” Koski said. “We don’t know when the segment on the garden will air. We’ll let you know as soon as we find out ourselves.”
A garden in progress
In fall 2022, a group of University of Minnesota master gardeners started a community giving garden on city property next to the Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic in Ely. One of the obligations for master gardeners is volunteer work in their communities, and maintaining and expanding the garden is currently the volunteer project for six local master gardeners, according to Koski.
The gardeners cleared and prepped the site for planting in fall 2022. In 2023, they planted for the first time with the goal of providing fresh produce for the veterans visiting the VA clinic.
The garden would not have been possible without the collaboration of the city, Koski said. “The city assisted with clearing the space, delivering mulch, and keeping the water barrels filled when there wasn’t enough rainwater.” The city also donated provided concrete planters, formerly used on Chapman St.
“The city of Ely has been great to work with,” Koski added.
The garden’s first full year was a success. “We had more produce than the veterans could use,” Koski said.
This year, the master gardeners have expanded, adding more unused concrete planters from the city, adding fruit trees, and laying out a nature walk to connect the new daycare center at the Community Hub Building to the garden space. The gardeners plan to add more garden space, signage, education displays, a pergola, and a picnic table donated by the Ely Rotary.
The newest and most eye-catching addition to the garden in 2024 is the donation of an old canoe from Outward Bound, now set up as a planter inside a landscaped circle. The gardeners planted it with beans, lettuce, and squash. The rest of the garden hosts tomatoes, beans, herbs, rhubarb, raspberries, celery, and peppers.
The master gardener volunteers share the produce they grow with the veterans visiting the VA Outpatient Clinic and local food shelves.