Thirty volunteers on Wednesday set up a community garden in Jeannette for yields in many years to come.
Raised garden beds made of recycled plastic will provide contained areas for gardeners to get their hands dirty in the soil, said Lisa Scott, human resources manager at Triumvirate Environmental in Jeannette. The new beds are an improvement over wooden ones that were previously used in the garden.
“It will not rot ever,” she said. “It is so sustainable and durable.”
The garden, at Seventh Street and Clay Avenue, has been in place for about nine years and gives residents an opportunity to grow their own food. The Seeds of Change project was a partnership between the county, city, residents and other agencies to turn an abandoned lot into a community garden.
Clyde and Lucille Bittner oversee Jeannette Greenspaces, a nonprofit that manages the garden. He watched Wednesday — Earth Day — as 30 new beds were built and installed by volunteers from Triumvirate Environmental, CNX Resources and Diversified Gas and Oil Corp. The beds were built from recycled plastic lumber manufactured at Triumvirate’s facility in Jeannette.
He expected more volunteers will be on hand next week to fill the beds with dirt. Planting is expected to start in a couple weeks with tomatoes, cabbage and beans. Bittner said he planned to try planting corn there this year.
Last year, Triumvirate employees helped update the fence around the garden and clean up the site, Scott said. Next year, volunteers plan to redo the fence with the plastic lumber.
“It’s going to be absolutely beautiful,” she said.