Community Gardens Celebrate Harvest Season

MARYSVILLE, Ohio, Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Community gardeners across the country are preparing for their favorite time of year, fall harvest. It is the time when hard work pays off with bounties of healthful fruits and vegetables. Fresh produce is just one of many advantages gardening brings to a community. Community gardens also promote environmental awareness, encourage healthy lifestyles, and create better social cohesion.

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The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has sponsored community gardens across the country for decades. In 2011, the company launchedGRO1000 to install 1,000 gardens and green spaces across the U.S., Canada, and Europe by 2018. So far, ScottsMiracle-Gro has helped 262 organizations enhance their communities through monetary and in-kind support. Because of GRO1000, fresh produce will be grown in many communities for the first time.

ScottsMiracle-Gro also fosters community gardens in Central Ohio, home to its world headquarters. The company supports Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens' Growing to Green program, which is Columbus' largest organized effort to provide free community gardening resources for the surrounding community. Each year, over 50,000 pounds of produce is donated to local food pantries.

"Community gardens bring healthy, nutritious foods to people with limited access to fresh produce," said Bill Dawson, Growing to Green coordinator at Franklin Park Conservatory. "These programs are essential to the health of our communities."

ScottsMiracle-Gro associates are also taking part in this harvest season by tending more than 150 garden beds located on the company's campus. Associates expect to donate approximately 3,000 pounds of fresh produce to area food pantries this year. That is something to celebrate.

For more information on community gardening, visit www.grogood.com.

About ScottsMiracle-Gro

With approximately $3 billion in worldwide sales, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Scotts Company LLC, is the world's largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care. The Company's brands are the most recognized in the industry. In the U.S., the Company's Scotts®, Miracle-Gro® and Ortho® brands are market-leading in their categories, as is the consumer Roundup® brand, which is marketed in North America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. In Europe, the Company's brands include Weedol®, Pathclear®, Evergreen®, Levington®, Miracle-Gro®, KB®, Fertiligene® and Substral®. For additional information, visit us at www.scotts.com.

SOURCE ScottsMiracle-Gro