Record-breaking harvest at community garden

A record 6,500 pounds of locally grown, garden-fresh produce was sown, tended and harvested this season at DeKalb County Community Garden’s Dolce Vita/Northwestern Medicine Community Garden.

In comparison, last year this garden garnered 1,000 pounds of fresh produce. However, this year by the first of August, the Dolce Garden team realized they were already halfway to their goal. Using crates and cars, the team regularly ferried their harvest to DCCG’s nearby warehouse. After several weigh-ins at the warehouse, a friendly game of “guess the total weight” between the Dolce Garden team and DCCG staff began; with both conservative and wild guesses being shared.

Behind these efforts are a “quiet team of unsung heroes” as Lori Brown warmly refers to the volunteers, friends, family and community partners who start seedlings, mow, donate and loan equipment and cheer on the Dolce Garden team’s efforts. She, along with Matt Boelk, oversee all aspects – planning, planting, maintaining and harvesting – of the Dolce Vita/Northwestern Medicine Garden located behind Dolce Vita Salon & Day Spa and Northwestern Medicine on Bethany Road in Sycamore.

In addition to the dedicated volunteers, many community collaborations helped make this garden really flourish in 2020, including CSR Bobcat, Tool Time Rental, Starbucks, Bowman Tree Service, Pingree Oaks Farm, City of DeKalb, Kishwaukee College, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Salem Lutheran Church, Love Our Neighbors (Crossroads Community Church), and DeKalb County Community Restitution Services.

“We have a multi-talented team that plays to each other’s strengths and brings out the best in us,” Brown said in a news release. “The Dolce Garden team cares for this garden with a ‘Spirit of Yes’: yes to nurturing the soil, yes to nurturing the plants and yes to nurturing each other.”

This year’s harvest has raised the bar of expectations for next year. Garden goals for 2021 will aim to match this year’s total weight, provide DeKalb County residents nutrition and instructional sessions held at the garden in collaboration with University of Illinois Extension programs, and begin to produce meal prep videos to complement the harvest that is included in DCCG’s food distributions across DeKalb County.

For more information about the garden, contact Lori Brown at Lori.LBrown@comcast.net or the Dolce Vita/Northwestern Garden Facebook group.