Community garden highlighted at local festival

From left to right, Jim Jarsulic, Mary Greene and Calvin Hoover volunteered at the Turner Community Garden booth on Sunday at the Turner Days event. (Staff photo)
From left to right, Jim Jarsulic, Mary Greene and Calvin Hoover volunteered at the Turner Community Garden booth on Sunday at the Turner Days event. (Staff photo)

Jim Jarsulic, one of the persons who started the Turner Community Garden, was one of two persons who were nominated this past weekend for the Turner Walk of Fame at Turner Days.

The community garden had a display at Turner Days, where tomatoes, peppers and other organic produce that was grown there were sold. The garden also has started a small orchard.

“This year we had a bumper crop,” said one of the volunteers staffing the Turner Community Garden booth. The garden is near South 55th and Klamm in Kansas City, Kan. The garden was started in 2010 and has seen a lot of community, senior volunteers and youth involvement.

Jarsulic said this year nine butterflies were tagged at the Turner Community Garden. Last year, there were no butterflies there. Volunteers hope the Turner Community Garden becomes a way station for butterflies migrating south. Started in 2011, the butterfly garden was built on a weedy area that had seen some illegal dumping in the past.

Jarsulic said some of the produce raised at the Turner Community Garden is taken to the Willa Gill food center for the homeless. Also, some food from the garden goes to the Rainbow lunch program for children.

“We’re just really proud of our garden,” said a volunteer.