MARFA — Volunteers at the Wagon Wheel Community Garden at 701 N. Kelly Street in Marfa are inviting everyone to enjoy the fruits of their labor and find the perfect pumpkin or gourd for their fall decorating at their Harvest Party on Saturday, October 31, from 10 a.m. to about 2 p.m. Costumes aren’t required but are encouraged, said sponsors.
Harvest Party goers can pick from a variety of 15 different pumpkins and gourds, browse a vendor market, fill up on food truck offerings, and enjoy live music, said Sarah Madero, who founded the community garden with Logan Smith and Robert Fly.
“We grew a variety of jack-o’-lanterns, and then we have an assortment of decorative pumpkins,” she said. “We’ll have them in big piles for people to come purchase, and the money will go to next year for the garden.” Pumpkin purchases will be cash or electronic pay applications only.
Guests can also pick from a variety of free flowers, shop at a fall market, grab a bite from food trucks, and enjoy live music.
The event celebrates the months of work done by around 40 volunteers. The work involved preparing the land, acquiring and planting the seeds, and ensuring they had the tons of fertilizer they needed to thrive.
“Pumpkins are heavy feeders, so we got seven tons of compost from El Paso,” Madero said.
In Marfa, caring for a garden also means dealing with javelinas. Recently javelinas broke into the garden and destroyed some of the pumpkins, but Madero estimated that they still have more than 300 to choose from.
The Harvest Party is part of a larger vision of what the garden can be, Madero said. The hope, she said, is that the garden becomes a “third space” in the community. The phrase “third space” has come to mean a place other than home or work where people gather to engage with others. Madero added that the garden is also not a bar or a restaurant, but a space where people can gather outdoors.
Volunteers are welcome to participate at Wagon Wheel Garden Weed and Wine events, said Madero, who clarified that the weed in “Weed and Wine” refers to clearing weeds from the garden.
“We would throw these community gatherings called Weed and Wine. So, we would provide wine, and everyone would come out and help us weed. It’s kinda misleading,” Madero conceded. “I got comments from the older people in the community. They were like, ‘Is this legal?’ and I’m like, ‘Yes, it’s just weeding.'”
The land was first established as a garden area in 2001 by local artist Sandra Harper who intended to work with local schools to create learning experiences for children, according to Madero, but when the funding dried up, the project didn’t take root.
“It kinda sat there for a few years, and I started gardening for Meredith Dreiss, who owns the lot,” Madero said, adding that soon after she started working for Dreiss, she began thinking about what could be done with the land.
“I’ve always been curious, like, what could we do with that space?” she said. “I love to plant in bulk and just see everything grow and one day I asked Meredith, ‘Can we use your plot to grow pumpkins?’”
Dreiss was convinced when she saw the garden. “The next time she came to look at it, we already had full-grown pumpkins and sunflowers, and she was just blown away,” Madero said. “I think we were all on the verge of tears. It was pretty amazing. She’s been very supportive. We couldn’t have done it without her.”
The garden could not have flourished without her fellow founders and the more than 40 volunteers who have put in work since June to plant and maintain it, Madero said.
