Big garden win

garden-moving-basil

Why is this basil is headed northbound? Growing pains.

I just moved 40′ of fencing and posts and all of this basil. Why? To make way for work to be done in my city’s community garden. In the past, we’ve had until very late in the season to tear down, leaving time for fall crops to grow and for summer crop seeds to dry. This year, we were asked to clean up by September 15 to make way for………

  • Water! No more water tower! Our water tower was filled once a week, and I remember that sad day in 2013 when I ran out of water during a weeding session. A reliable source of water will make operations muuuuch better.
  • Another 74 plots! Now we’re talking community — a number that gets closer to matching our population. My goal would be to offer enough plots to accommodate 5% of residents who are renting as well as those without suitable yards for growing. (This would be a good data point to collect in years going forward.)
  • A gathering space! According to a site plan sent in an email to the current ten garden plot holders, somewhere down the road, we’ll have a concrete pad and shelter and storage.

The garden was most recently mentioned here on the city website: http://www.wdm.iowa.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=17661

Again (click if you want to read about the last time I did this), I will be giving thanks at a future city council meeting. Who ever tires of hearing genuine praise?