Garden Club and SSC Expand Vegetable Access

The University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Garden Club and SSC Services for Education, the university's grounds services company, are collaborating to grow sustainable crops on campus this year at the Lion Pride Vegetable and Herb Garden, located between the Vines and Gardner buildings on campus. 

They will host a Spring Planting Day on May 4 at 2 p.m., weather permitting. 

Participants can plant a variety of starter plants, including watermelons, cantaloupes, strawberry mint, lettuce mix, tomatoes, culinary herbs, and seeds of corn and okra. 

This year, the garden will feature new additions including a wheelchair-accessible raised bed, dedicated rows for corn, and two trellises for cucumbers.

SSC has also updated signage around the garden, and added a waterproof box containing biodegradable bags so students can pick perfectly ripened vegetables on their way home from classes. Should there be an abundance of unpicked produce, SSC will collect the vegetables and transport them to the on-campus Food Pantry once a week for distribution with groceries.

There are also dedicated copost areas on the UAFS campus where individuals can dispose of compostable food and plant waste. SSC intends to use the compost generated this year to fertilize the gardens next season.