Press Release
Mills River Presbyterian Church
On Saturday, March 1, 2014, Mills River Presbyterian Church will launch a new community initiative entitled “Garden Rolling on Wheels” (GROW) in the church parking lot from 10:00am to 11:00am. The educational program includes the start of a tire garden on a flatbed trailer that will grow winter greens for the community.
“Six discarded car tires that have been turned inside out will be filled with a sustainable compost soil mixture used for the small-space garden,” says Bob Andersen, a member of First Presbyterian Church in Mills River. “We hope to educate people on the techniques of container garden growing, much as they do in global villages around the world, such as in Guatemala. Part of this educational outreach will be to drive the GROW tire garden to the Mills River Farmers Market this Spring to spur interest in growing sustainable gardens. After that the harvest will be donated to the needy in our area.”
Mills River Education Center has donated the seeds for the first crop of winter greens, which will include kale, arugula, mustard and dill. Middle school students from The Mountain Community School in Hendersonville will “flip the tires” and local Boy Scout and Cub Scout groups will participate in the event and in subsequent educational sessions. The Exxon gas station in Etowah has donated the worn-out tires. A GROW team of church members and community representatives has activated the program and will work on continuing education efforts for the next year.
“All Asheville and Hendersonville area residents are invited to participate in the kick-off of this community project on March 1,” says Andersen. “We’ll be together for an hour that morning to learn more about sustainable gardens, improving diets with home-grown vegetables and plant our first crop. This endeavor will continue throughout the Summer months with a second planting of tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables. We’ll also progress to learning about vermi-culture, which uses soil worms for fertilization.”
Rain date for the event is Sunday, March 2 at 2:00pm. For more details on the Mills River Education Center and community gardening, visit www.LivingWebFarms.org.
For more information on GROW, call the church at 891-7101. Mills River Presbyterian Church is located at 10 Presbyterian Church Road in Mills River (off of School House Road).
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