Welcome to the Community Garden Page

The Black Mountain Community Garden has three main objectives.

First, it furnishes a place where families in our Valley can grow vegetables for their own use. Second, with the help of volunteers, the garden supplies fresh vegetables for low income families in our Valley. The produce is taken weekly to Swannanoa Christian Ministries, to The Welcome Table in Swannanoa, and to Manna Food Bank in Asheville during peak production. Third, it teaches children and adults the life-long skill of growing vegetables, and at the same time teaches them the valuable lesson of sharing with others.

During the past three years, dozens of middle school students from The Learning Community School and many students from Warren Wilson College have plowed, planted weeded and harvested in 48 eight by fifty foot beds, producing one ton of vegetables the first year, two tons the second and 3895 pounds from June to December last year. Using hoop tunnels covered with reemay and plastic, vegetables are harvested even during the cold winter months.

During the summer months when The Learning Community School and Warren Wilson students are not available, we seek volunteers from Scouts, church groups, and students from all over the Southeast maintain the garden by planting, weeding and harvesting.If you or your group is interested in volunteering this summer, please see the volunteer information below.

As a function of the Black Mountain Recreation and Parks, the Community Garden contributes a valuable service to people of all ages and backgrounds in the Swannanoa Valley.