Community garden planting

Jacob Wiegand

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Gardeners turned out for planting Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Washington Park and Fountain Street community gardens in Cape Girardeau. Melissa LaPlant, manager of Southeast Missouri State University's Charles Hutson Greenhouse, said peppers, red cabbage, kale, cucumber, basil and chives were some of the items planted. Brock Davis, parks division manager for the City of Cape Girardeau, said the community garden planting was part of “Friends of the Park Week” which he said includes projects conducted by people in small groups and spread out in a week or two week period. “This year’s a little different,” Davis said. “Instead of all together, we’re just spreading out. … Next year, hopefully, we won’t have this problem and we’ll be back like we usually do with 400 people running around.”

Kelly Hurley, a Southeast Missouri State University student studying agribusiness horticulture, laughs near her sister Katie Hurley, right, while gardening Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Washington Park Community Garden in Cape Girardeau. Melissa LaPlant, manager of Southeast Missouri State University's Charles Hutson Greenhouse, said peppers, red cabbage, kale, cucumber, basil and chives were some of the items planted. Brock Davis, parks division manager for the City of Cape Girardeau, said the community garden planting was part of "Friends of the Park Week" which he said includes projects conducted by people in small groups and spread out in a week or two week period. "This year's a little different," Davis said. "Instead of all together, we're just spreading out. ... Next year, hopefully, we won't have this problem and we'll be back like we usually do with 400 people running around." (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Melissa LaPlant, manager of Southeast Missouri State University's Charles Hutson Greenhouse, works with a plant Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Fountain Street Community Garden in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Robert Harris Jr., originally of Scott County, Missouri, and now Cape Girardeau, uses a rake while gardening Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Fountain Street Community Garden in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Melissa LaPlant, manager of Southeast Missouri State University's Charles Hutson Greenhouse, gardens Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Washington Park in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)

Melissa LaPlant, manager of Southeast Missouri State University's Charles Hutson Greenhouse, tends to gardening Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Washington Park Community Garden in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Melissa LaPlant, manager of Southeast Missouri State University's Charles Hutson Greenhouse, tends to gardening Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Washington Park Community Garden in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Robert Harris Jr. (left), originally of Scott County, Missouri, and now Cape Girardeau, and Sven Svenson, a professor of agribusiness and horticulture at Southeast Missouri State University, tend to gardening Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Washington Park Community Garden in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
From left: Cathy Brown, her husband Bill Brown, Bonnie Coy-Svenson and her husband Sven Svenson tend to gardening tasks Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Fountain Street Community Garden in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Sven Svenson, a professor of agribusiness and horticulture at Southeast Missouri State University, rakes debris Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Fountain Street Community Garden in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)

Robert Harris Jr., originally of Scott County, Missouri, and now Cape Girardeau, tends to planting Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Fountain Street Community Garden in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Melissa LaPlant, manager of Southeast Missouri State University's Charles Hutson Greenhouse, and Sven Svenson, a professor of agribusiness and horticulture at the university, tend to gardening tasks Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Fountain Street Community Garden in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Melissa LaPlant, manager of Southeast Missouri State University's Charles Hutson Greenhouse, poses for a photo Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Washington Park Community Garden in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Brock Davis, parks division manager for the City of Cape Girardeau, poses for a photo Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Washington Park Community Garden in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Bill Brown of Cape Girardeau and his wife Cathy Brown, originally of St. Clair County, Missouri, and now Cape Girardeau, pose for a photo Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Fountain Street Community Garden in Cape Girardeau. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)