Cullowhee Community Garden’s peaceful ambience is often enjoyed by gardeners, volunteers and visitors alike. The Cullowhee Creek flows behind it adding a cherry on top by making the soil more ideal for growing while providing the soothing sound of trickling water.
What was once the perfect complement to the garden soon became its opponent as the rain from Hurricane Helene caused the creek to swell causing multiple feet of water to submerge the entire garden.
“We have water marks on different structures on the garden. The plots nearest to the creek showed the water was up over 6 feet,” David Claxton, garden manager, said. “Everything got flooded.
The garden is dedicated to aiding food insecurity in Jackson County. At least half of every harvest is donated to different food pantries and charities. Summer crops had already been donated, normally fall donations would’ve began harvesting, but it was interrupted by the storm.
“Anything that was in contact with the flood water could have been contaminated with microorganisms or possibly even some poisons,” Claxton said. “It’s just not safe to eat any of that so we can’t give any of it away.
This was not the only hit the garden took towards donations this year. Earlier in the year, both pear trees were stripped, and all the pears were stolen.
September 2023, 850 pounds of produce was donated, pears made up 200 pounds of that donation. Despite the 200-pound pear loss, the garden was still able to donate over 800 pounds of produce in 2024.
The life of Cullowhee Community Garden still thrived despite flooding. Recently, Claxton began using vermiculture to aid in composting process. Vermiculture is the use of worms to add nutrients to soil.
Before the storm Claxton moved the worms into the greenhouse. He worried as flooding infiltrated the greenhouse. When he returned, he found out the worms were untouched by the water.
“We saved all of our worms. They’re as happy as can be and still doing their little worm things,” Claxton said.
The garden also relied on beehives near the creek to help pollinate plots. After the flooding, Claxton checked the hives and saw they had been washed away.
Nearly 70 yards downstream, a gardener checked his plot after the flood and found the hives on their side. The gardener happened to be a beekeeper and was able to save the hives and bees living in them.
The garden still has damaged equipment that needs replaced, including the new battery-powered converter. The brand-new converter was a replacement for the new converter that was stolen in July 2023.
Claxton tried to keep the converter safe by storing it in a new shed that was secured with an electronic lock. Water was still able to seep in and the lock shorted out. Claxton was touched when the locksmith offered to unlock their shed for free.
“I was inspired by [the locksmith’s] approach to community service,” Claxton said.
Cullowhee Community Garden is still accepting volunteers from students and community members alike. The garden is also still accepting scraps in their compost pile. For more information visit health.jacksonnc.org/cullowhee-community-garden.
