Marten family garden shores up food insecurity on DeKalb’s north side

The Marten family garden is known to grow anything from zucchini and eggplant to cucumbers and tomatoes.

DeKalb resident Ron Marten is seen Sept. 26, 2022 standing outside of his house next to a sign and his dog, Winnie.

DeKALB – DeKalb residents Ron and Joyce Marten know there is power in lending a hand to others in their time of need, but what they didn’t know is how greatly they could make a difference in the community by giving away fresh fruits and vegetables from their home garden.

The Martens said they never imagined seeing the impact they could have operating a curbside produce stand outside their home, 102 Buena Vista Drive in DeKalb.

“I really don’t feel that we’re doing that much,” Ron Marten said. “We’re just friendly people and like to give away. We got a big garden here. We can’t use everything, and we’re more than happy to give away whatever we have.”

DeKalb resident Joyce Marten (right) is seen standing in her yard near the cistern for irrigation, which allows her to use rain water instead of city water to tend to her garden. The Marten family garden is located 102 Buena Vista Drive in DeKalb.

In their garden, the Martens are known to grow anything from zucchini and eggplant to cucumbers and tomatoes.

Ron Marten, who is retired, said he and his wife enjoy running a garden in their yard, but it’s merely a hobby for the couple.

“We enjoy it,” he said. “We get a lot of friends for it. So, that’s why we do it.”

The Marten family garden is located 102 Buena Vista Drive in DeKalb.

Among the friends the Martens have made along the way is their neighbor Linh Nguyen. She said that she first met the Martens in 2016 when she and her family moved to DeKalb.

“They make a lot of friends that way,” Nguyen said. “They’re so caring and kind and generous.”

Nguyen said she believes the garden has helped families that are in need.

“I know the people who live across the street in the apartment complex,” Nguyen said. “They are the main customer of this garden because they would be coming home from work or leaving home to go to work and they would see the vegetables get freshly picked and put out there and would stop and get them.”

The Marten family garden is located 102 Buena Vista Drive in DeKalb.

Ron Marten said it’s a lot of work for he and his wife to run the garden, but they’ve maintained larger in the past.

“We lived in Malta,” he said. “We had a home there for about five, six years and we had a garden there, probably twice the size of this one.”

Ron Marten said varying degrees of manpower are required for the couple to maintain their garden. The labor work differs by the season.

The Martens have invested in a cistern for irrigation allowing the couple to store and collect rain water instead of relying on city water to tend to the garden.

The Marten family garden is located 102 Buena Vista Drive in DeKalb.

Ron Marten said the financial benefit of using a tank versus relying on city water differs significantly.

“Sometimes we would get a bill of about $700, $900 dollars for the quarter,” Ron Marten said. “Now with the tank, I would say our biggest bills run around maybe around $400.”

But Marten said that maintaining the garden remains worth it for his wife and him because of the community’s appreciation shown for what they do.

“They thank us,” Ron Marten said. “Oftentimes they want to pay, but we won’t accept anything. However, we do make them pay by petting Winnie, [the Marten family dog].”

Have a Question about this Daily Chronicle article?