HenWash Farms Community Garden

This garden was specifically designed to cultivate a healthy soil ecosystem as well as sequester any water and nutrients on-site.  This soil-building practice has great potential to sequester carbon from waste and the atmosphere.  In the formation of the subsoil for this garden, a large amount of carbon, wood chips, slow-release nutrients(such as oyster shells), and compost were used.  This garden has been operational for 3 years, has never been watered or had additional nutrients added while producing/fruitfully.  It contains a community composting site space for 180 cubic feet of compost development.  As a zero-runoff garden, to keep the rain onsite, it also serves as a GI installation that sequesters stormwater, carbon, and important nutrients.  Urban agriculture can potentially contribute large quantities of nutrient pollution and potential pesticides and herbicides into wastewater treatment facilities, increasing the water costs of local residents, due to treatment requirements.  Through deep-rooted native plant buffer strips, the well-developed soil ecosystem, rain gardens, and gravel filtration systems(parking lot) help retain all nutrients in the stormwater on-site.