Together we continue the Garden’s mission statement: 

To provide space in the Cloquet community for growth of mind, body and food.

The Community Garden at Zion Lutheran Church started from the inspiration of Ruth Jorgenson in 2014. A lifelong gardener who knows the hard work and rewards of growing food for her family first hand, Ruth decided to share her talent and passion with others. She recruited a small group of gardeners from the community and congregation and invited United Way to be a partner organization. Zion generously gave permission to use a 60 by 70 foot space on the east corner of the church property and the work began. Early on, it was decided that this would be an organic garden, so to prepare the soil,  the sod was covered with black plastic for two years. After that, the sod was turned over, chopped up and the area was seeded with buckwheat ground-cover to enrich the soil and choke out weeds. A 7 foot fence was built to keep the neighborhood deer herd out, rain barrels were set up, a weed-free perimeter was formed around the fence and plots and paths were laid out. The first gardeners planted in 2016. Zion Lutheran took over United Way’s role as fiscal agent in 2023, thus allowing the garden to keep its tax exempt status. 

Cloquet Community Garden Facebook