TORRINGTON – If you have driven down Main Street, you might have seen the All-Saints’ Episcopal Church Community Garden.

“This garden has been here since the ‘70s,” Tom Johnson, a local green thumb explained. “Because when they kicked them off the college property, the gardeners all went around and found every vacant lot they could find,” Johnson explained showing off the well-kept garden plots.

The church just happened to have a vacant lot.

“So, they (church) just told them (gardeners) to put the water tap in and pay for the water and they could have it. Dr. Peiper’s been here probably since then. He was actually more of a start than anybody,” Johnson recalled. “The church really never was involved a lot. I mean we’d have a few people but it was just kind of the community did their thing. Five years ago, we decided to do more. We had a member of the church that was working over here – helping and trying to run it.”

Three years ago, marked a turning point. The church decided to become more involved in organizing the garden space.

“We wanted a shed to store stuff so Southeast High School built us one. Mr. Bullington and students came out and helped put it up so that was the start,” Johnson noted.

The next major addition came through a conversation at a local garden show. Jeff Edwards, University of Wyoming (UW) Extension Educator and Horticulture Specialist, donated the geodome for the garden.

“One time, Alice Jolivich and I, well there were five of us who went to the garden show on Friday morning and talked about the garden and afterwards, we were sitting around and Jeff says, ‘Well, you want a geodome?’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t have any money right now,’ and he said, ‘That’s alright,’” Johnson explained. “So, I said, ‘We’ll apply for a grant,’ and so I applied for a grant to get the geodome, the raised beds, run water line into the geodome.”

The grant application process proved straightforward. According to Johnson, all the community gardeners needed to do to secure grant funding was share and teach.

“Actually, UW gave us the geodome. All we have to do is share and teach so we got it granted to us,” Johnson said. “The raised beds, the first 11 were started the year we put the geodome up – three years ago. That’s kind of how it started and we decided to raise beds so then more people could work and not have to bend over.”

Today, Johnson manages the day-to-day operations. He walked around the garden, pointing out different plots and naming their “owner”.

“There are five open plots right now and we are getting ready to do three more but it’s been wet so we couldn’t get dirt so we haven’t been in a hurry,” Johnson said. “It’s $30. I water Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, so that we know everything gets watered.”

To make watering more efficient, Johnson has used a garden drip system to irrigate the garden plots by zone.

“They’re set like nine beds per zone, so you turn them on and run them for an hour or an hour and a half. The drip tape, the system itself is easy to take care of,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s dedication to the project hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“Tom has worked really hard getting all this going, let me tell you,” Alice Jolivich explained.

The garden continues to expand based on demand. “There are still five plots. We got three more to put up so if we draw more people – if not we’ll plant them into potatoes and whatever tomatoes,” Johnson said.

Beyond serving individual gardeners, the space contributes to the broader community. “All of our extra stuff, every week, goes to the senior center. We’ve done over a thousand pounds [of produce] a year for the senior center.”

The relationship with the senior center has proven mutually beneficial. Johnson noted the seniors love the donations of fresh produce.

“They have a basket in center where you put produce in there and the seniors after lunch, they’ll grab stuff and go home with it. They don’t waste it. They know how to cook it, the zucchini and whatever,” Johnson said.

“You go there the next day and it’s gone,” Jolivich added.

Funding from the original grant allowed for continued expansion. According to Johnson, they had enough grant money left over for nine raised gardening beds.

“Alice and her partner, ‘Garlic Ed’ put in nine more. We put in 18 last year. My son, Zach, he donated money for 12 beds,” Johnson explained.

The garden’s infrastructure reflects careful planning. According to Johnson, the walkways of the garden also have weed barrier in place to help keep the weeds down.

Quality materials were a priority from the beginning. 

“This is all redwood. We didn’t go cheap and this will last for 40 years – it will be here longer than we will,” Johnson said.

The garden’s growing practices emphasize sustainability and health. As far as the soil is concerned, Johnson noted it’s rich in minerals and natural fertilizers from goat and sheep manure. There is even a composting bin on site. Johnson also explained the garden is kept free of pesticides and herbicides.

When pest control becomes necessary, the gardeners use safe alternatives. 

“It’s simple. If we have to spray the bindweed, I use horticulture vinegar which is 40% so we cut it in half and spray it. It’ll kill the bindweed and stuff but it doesn’t hurt anybody,” Johnson explained. “We have gardeners that are allergic to some of the stuff and you don’t know. You can walk in here and pull something out of the ground and eat it and you know you’re safe.”

“Just the thing to do,” Jolivich added.

The organic approach serves a larger environmental purpose. “We’re losing our bees and pollinators because of the city spraying for the mosquitoes so we go to do everything else we can to keep it healthy. So, it’s just easy – the organic part of it. It’s not hard – you just quit spraying, pull weeds. This way of pulling weeds is not hard, I mean, you’re standing upright,” Johnson explained.

The garden serves as both growing space and educational resource. Johnson further explained the community garden also has a seed bank, gardening tools and a fellowship of master gardeners to help teach.

The community aspect extends beyond daytime gardening activities. The All-Saints’ Community Garden also hosts weekly music sessions every Friday evening at 6 p.m. Gardeners gather among their plots with instruments and voices, singing to their plants. The sessions include community members from across Torrington who participate in the musical gatherings while tending to the garden space.

For more information on plot rentals, or to get involved, contact Johnson at (307) 575-3238.