The national economy has eaten the proverbial dirt, so these days North Kitsap residents are taking stock in a different kind of green. Many accustomed to plucking their veggies from grocery store stands are now tilling their own, whether than means a backyard garden or a community parcel.

Plots are completely rented out in Poulsbo’s Raab Park P-Patch, and a waiting list has begun.

“As far as anybody can remember this is the first year that that’s happened,” said P-Patch coordinator Marianne Mallabon, of the 42 rented plots in Raab Park. Started in 2002, citizens grow anything from vegetables to fruit in the garden — the only stipulation being that crops must be grown organically.

“It runs the gamut,” Mallabon said. “Tomatoes, beans, peas, squash, lettuce, onions, pretty much anything that will grow around here. And it’s totally up to the people what they want to plant, what they want to eat.”

A few plots are dedicated to area food bank North Kitsap Fishline. Last year, those plots produced 550 pounds of food for the needy.

To Mallabon and others with a green thumb on the community gardening pulse, it’s no secret the activity has become a resurging trend, a new era of growing in a nation born and bred of agriculture.

Between the sluggard economy, the desire for down-home community interaction, recent food scares, a push to eat organically and First Lady Michelle Obama growing a Victory Garden in the public eye, it’s no surprise community plots in the area are filled up.

Bainbridge Island and Bremerton have similar movements, and many local schools have increased the activity in their curriculums.

“I just think people are looking for an opportunity to do this kind of thing,” said Poulsbo Parks and Recreation Director Mary McCluskey. The P-Patch is overseen by the City of Poulsbo and the Washington State University Kitsap extension master gardener’s program.

McCluskey said the P-Patch formerly hovered around 50 percent capacity, but now, with a waiting list bearing eight names, she said the department may have to consider an expansion. “It’s full,” said McCluskey. “That’s the biggest indicator to me that it’s a well-accepted program.”

Yearly dues allow the garden to pay for itself, and master gardener volunteers coordinate monthly work parties and a tool lending shed.

“People are much more aware of what they’re spending. They’re much more aware of what goes into their food,” explained P-Patch coordinator Tess Frazier. “Community gardening is really a practical choice.”

Many at the P-Patch, like Frazier, are novice gardeners. Frazier has gardened for two years now, having also taken the master gardener course. She said at the P-Patch, coordinators provide growers with all the literature, guidance and information they need.

“We learn so much from each other, it’s incredible. There’s so much information that’s exchanged,” Frazier said. “No question should go unanswered. There is no such thing as a silly question, or a dumb question.”

Most who garden there have also found the long-sought community bond. In the tool lending shed, there is a map of the garden beds, complete with the name of each gardener.

“We help each other keep the weeds down,” Frazier said. “It has turned out to be quite a little community.”

Next to the P-Patch is the Raab Park Youth Garden, in which master gardeners offer educational programs for kids. To find out about either garden, visit the Parks and Recreation page at www.cityofpoulsbo.com.