Can you dig it? Community Garden looking for more gardeners

Stutt’s Garden of Weedin’

Sign posted on John Stutt’s Community Garden Plot

Don’t let anyone tell you vegetable gardening is without effort — that you just scatter seeds and stand back as your vegetables and herbs burst from the soil. Preparing the bed, planting, weeding and watering is physical work.

Healthy physical work, though, and there are rewards to be reaped. You grow exactly what you want, and know exactly how it’s been grown. And you have the satisfaction of experiencing the whole process, from planted seed to harvested vegetable or fruit. Then of course there’s the taste of freshly-picked produce — all veggies taste best fresh from the garden.

Not everyone has the space and resources to start a vegetable garden, and that’s where a community garden comes in.

The Lindsay Community Garden has some available spaces for 2018 and is looking for committed new recruits.

About the Garden

The gardens are located on Fleming’s Frost Campus (there are signs at the base of Albert St.) In addition to providing a large space with full sun and a sandy loam soil the college has made many contributions. The college has ensured a reliable supply of water: drain-pipes on adjacent out-buildings direct rainfall into a system of 15 plastic cubes distributed around the garden; in droughts the gardeners can draw from Fleming’s water system. They allow parking alongside the garden entrance, and installed a fence to mark the garden perimeter.

The college’s staff and students have played significant roles as the gardens have developed. Forestry staff have contributed the wood-chips that form the pathways and Arboriculture staff created a small orchard of apple, cherry and pear trees. At times, new crops of students have been assigned an hour of volunteer labour under the direction of Fleming instructors, clearing what had been meadow and digging out pathways.

In having this college connection and support, Lindsay Community Garden is uniquely advantaged.

About the Gardeners

The gardeners form a diverse community — they range from young families and students to seniors, from newbie gardeners to certified Master Gardeners and a former Ministry of Agriculture expert. Some plots are taken by community organizations — Reach for Recovery, Community Care, the Food Source, and a local school-group for example.

Benefits of Joining

Gardeners are given a space roughly 8 ft. by 16 ft. and share in a large communal herb garden. In addition they have use of wheelbarrows and can make use of the many gardening tools stored in a shed. A supply of water is guaranteed. The other benefit is contact with a congenial collection of other gardeners.

Costs and Expectations

The plot fee is $30. (Most of that money goes to the insurance that the college requires).

Gardeners must have their gardens planted by June 1 and are expected to keep their plots free of weeds and be responsible in use of water.  At the end of the gardening year, plots should be tidied.

Anyone  interested in joining the Lindsay Community Garden should attend an  information session next Tuesday, March 13th, 7:00 pm in the downstairs meeting room of the Lindsay library branch on Kent St. or if unable to attend contact Jim Morasse at .