BY KELLY RIZZETTA
Correspondent
PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY, staff Clockwise from left: A scarecrow stands watch over flourishing garden plots at Fair Haven Fields Gardens. Judy Fuller is president of the gardens committee and tends a garden plot. Leeanne Fallon helps out by pulling weeds in a friend’s garden plot on June 26. FAIR HAVEN — Covering less than two square miles of real estate, it’s hard to imagine that the quiet little burg of Fair Haven could possibly contain a nook or cranny unexplored by the average Shore dweller.
Yet it’s probably safe to say that more than one passer-by motoring along Ridge Road or jogging through the woodsy trails of Fair Haven Fields has overlooked a horticultural haven nestled between the recreational soccer fields and the Christ Church parking lot.
Known simply as the Fair Haven Fields Gardens (FHFG), this small tract of cleared ground offers residents an outlet for agricultural pursuits right in the middle of suburbia.
As part of New Jersey’s Green Acres initiative to preserve open spaces for public use, the gardens are open to any would-be farmers. Renters who register with the Fair Haven Fields Gardens Committee and pay the $15 sign-up fee in early April get the right to farm a 20-by-20-foot plot of plowed land and access to the municipal water supply. The latter was secured through an arrangement with the Fair Haven Recreation Commission just last year in conjunction with a grant that helped the committee pay for a plowing service.
Beyond that, it’s up to the renters to rely on their own seeds, fertilizer and green thumbs.
Adrienne Hinds, who is renting a garden plot for the third year, is equipped with a complete set of “green fingers,” according to her husband, Michael Hinds. The couple shares their plot with a friend, and though their corner garden location doesn’t receive the optimum amount of sunlight, the Hinds are hoping to cultivate tomatoes, string beans, zucchini and basil.
When asked what drew them to the FHFG rental program, Adrienne replied, “We have a big yard, but the thing [is], when you do a garden like this, obviously you’ve got to wreck your grass. So it’s just kind of fun to come up here, actually, and then you [can] look at everybody else’s garden. And I enjoy it; I come here every day.”
Unlike the Hinds, first-time renters Ken and Kathy Debrowski and twin daughters Lauren and Lisa were attracted to the gardens by the prospect of having a bigger planting plot than their own property would allow.
“Most of the lots in Fair Haven are small, so you really can’t devote a big hunk of your backyard to a garden,” said Ken.
“We had gardens in the past in other houses that we owned but not since we have lived in Fair Haven,” explained Kathy. “And we missed the whole gardening thing and the fresh vegetables, so we wanted to try to get back to it.”
But extra space and lawn preservation aren’t the only perks to renting an FHFG plot. Fair Haven Fields Gardens Committee President and FHFG renter Judy Fuller describes the goal of the gardens as an effort to promote community togetherness.
Fuller said community gardens such as the FHFG promote social interaction and build community.
“I hope it doesn’t sound too corny, but really, the sense of community: that we’re all in there, and it’s a chance to just talk and socialize in a very informal way,” she said. “And we’re all working toward common good and commiserating over the damage that the deer or the rabbits do. It’s just a fun kind of activity.
“Everybody is very helpful,” Fuller added. “We all share experiences and advice and crops.”
These benefits are just a few of the impetuses behind the community garden boom of the early 1980s. Initially begun as a way to combat urban decay in inner cities, the community gardening trend blossomed and spread to other areas for its ability to “[create] opportunities for recreation, exercise, therapy and education,” according to the American Community Gardening Association’s (ACGA) Web site.
Though it might be news to some, the FHFG rental program has provided just those types of opportunities for Shore residents since the mid-1970s, according to Fuller.
“When I first got involved,” said Fuller, “it was back in the 1980s, and [plots were] so much in demand that there used to be a line waiting to sign up and a waiting list; it was extremely competitive.
“We haven’t had that problem in a long time,” she added.
However, this planting season has seen a spike in FHFG enrollment, and by the end of the registration process, all 56 plots had been rented with the exception of one that was purposely taken off the market for its lack of exposure to sunlight.
Fuller explained the sudden upsurge in gardening activity.
“I think it’s a new generation [of renters]. There have been a lot of us old-timers around for a long time and in the last couple of years, we’re seeing a lot more younger people, families … with all the kids helping out and everything.”
That’s what drew Fair Haven mom Donna Francis and kids Josie, 6, and William, 3, to the gardens one sunny afternoon.
“[Having the plot is] great, because it doesn’t take up room in your yard,” said Francis, “And the kids can come out here on Saturday and help out [and] learn about how things grow.”
William is particularly enthusiastic about the prospect of raising crops, naming ‘Strawberries!’ when asked which of his mother’s seedlings he was most excited to harvest.
Of course, taking care of an FHFG plot isn’t all fun, games and strawberries. In fact, the job is a substantial responsibility, explained Fuller.
“It’s really quite a big plot,” Fuller said. “And I think, sometimes, when people originally sign up, they think it’s going to be fun or a good idea, and they don’t realize how much work it might be.”
Then again, Adrienne Hinds reasons:
“Yeah, you have to weed,” acknowledged Adrienne Hinds, “but it’s great; it’s a lot of fun.”
Apparently, the gardeners aren’t the only ones enjoying themselves; and certain four-legged visitors look forward to the planting season as an opportunity for a buffet dinner. For their part, the Hindses have tried everything from pinwheels to marigolds to deep-buried fences to ward off intrusions by hungry deer and rabbits seeking a free meal, but their plot remains what Adrienne Hinds calls a “bunny diner.”