Harvest Community Garden (HCG) is a nonprofit organization that enables people from the community to come together to grow produce organically and donate half of it to a local food pantry. The garden is a member of Community Gardens of Carrollton (501c3) and is a partner of the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB). HCG is located on the south side of Redeemer Covenant Church’s property at 1518 E Frankford Rd, Carrollton, TX. For only $40, members of the community can adopt one of the 24 raised beds (20’ x 4’) for a year.  ($20 for a half plot.) The garden also has an asparagus bed, blackberries, a pollinator garden, and a xeriscape garden which volunteers can help care for.

The Board:

Stan Basnett (Chair); Cindy Baxley (Community Gardens of Carrollton); 3 community members – Linda Lee, Kim Lester, & Steven Pliler; and 2 Redeemer members – Sean Flynn & Lori Vriend.

2023 was a banner year:

We had 21 gardeners with ALL of the plots adopted!

AND, even though we had an extremely hot, dry summer and an early freeze in October, we donated a record 2,725 pounds to Metrocrest Services’ food pantry! 

We gave a wide variety of organically grown food, including included tomatoes, herbs, peas, peppers, broccoli, leafy greens, onions, carrots, potatoes, beans, melons, asparagus, radishes, and much more.

2023 Activities & Accomplishments:

  • The North Texas Food Bank gave HCG seedlings, watering cans, and fertilizer and arranged a partner garden tour of McKinney Roots Farm.
  • UTD med students volunteered 7 times this year. They spread mulch, repaired fences, trimmed berries, cleaned up and planted beds, cleaned the shed, and installed PVC water pipes to the beds and more.*
  • Stan & Kim represented HCG at the Carrollton Annual Citizens Evening Event.
  • HCG provided gardeners with seeds and seedlings in both the spring and fall.
  • We bought a load of compost in the spring from Texas Pure Products (Plano)
  • Justin Tree Service provided mulch in January, June, and August.
  • We enjoyed our first Seeds of Community Social at Stan’s house on April 1st.
  • We provided coffee or treats several mornings throughout the year so gardeners could relax, get to know each other, and share gardening tips.
  • Mike Rowe worked on irrigation.
  • Stan’s lawn guy helped with weeding beds.
  • Karen expanded the pollinator garden.*
  • On December 3rd several gardeners served as Christmas gift wrappers for Grandscape, which later donated $1,000 to HCG.

 In 2024 we hope to:

  • Install a mosaic sign and replace some rotting boards.
  • Have spring and fall socials.
  • Expand the pollinator garden and become a certified butterfly sanctuary.
  • Renew our composting practices.
  • Plan a couple fundraisers.

 *Special thanks: to Kim Lester for coordinating all the volunteers, to Steven Pliler for organizing the harvest roster all year, to Karen Gilboux for working on the pollinator gardens, and to Lori Vriend for updating the website and Facebook.
www.facebook.com/harvestcommunitygarden
Email Stan at slbasnett@verizon.net