Community garden plots almost ready for planting

The community garden plots on Niven Road are almost ready to be planted.

The town has some minor tidying up to do, says organizer Julian Trachsel, before planting can begin, likely on June 1.

Of the 32 garden plots the town has created, he has three left to rent out, he says. The others were snapped up quickly.

He thought they were all spoken for, but “a couple of people who had committed earlier are no longer participating this year,” he explained.

 As a result, there are three 10-foot by 10-foot plots still available for rental and planting this year.

Two of the 32 gardens have been dedicated to growing sunflowers “as a symbol of support for Ukraine,” he says.

And eight plots have been set aside for Newark Neighbours, so families can grow their own food, with plants purchased from the community garden budget for them. Seven families so far have committed to planting.

There are also two boxes of raised gardens for those with accessibility issues.

The plots are being rented for $60, which will help cover all the costs of the community garden, with Trachsel as co-ordinator.

The town has laid out the rows of plots, taking up a fraction of the space of a large, mostly unused Newark Park on Niven Road, and laid a gravel path for accessibility. The plots, Trachsel explained, have been turf-scraped, some fresh soil was brought in. On Friday, the plots were being tilled.

“It’s a beautiful park, and not well-used or well-known,” says Trachsel, sweeping his arm around the large greenspace. “I can envision benches and picnic tables at some point down the road.”

There is also room for the community garden to expand, if there is more demand for plots, he says.

When the town originally designated that park for the community garden, some residents were concerned about trees that would have to go, as was Trachsel.

But he discovered the town was using the park as a nursery for small trees — they were never intended to stay there. Most have been moved to the Lakeshore Cemetery.

One of the main concerns was getting water to the gardens, and a water line and tap have now been installed. Trachsel explains there will be a large pail that can be kept full, for gardeners to use to fill their watering cans. “It’s better to use degassed water,” he says. “The gas will evaporate, and the water will be better for the plants. That’s something I learned from other city gardens.”

A hose attached to the tap would be less convenient, he adds, with only one person able to use it at a time. A hose also tends to lead to over-watering. “It’s just not as practical. If you’re using a watering can, you’re not going to waste water.”

He expects watering will be necessary every day for the first little while at least.

Trachsel is anxious to get planting his vegetables. He says he has more than 20 different varieties of tomatoes, as well as zucchini, eggplant, peppers and cucumbers. “If the town said it was ready, I’d be planting tomorrow,” he said Friday. “I’m pumped, really excited to get started. But I have no issue with waiting until June 1. That’s still early enough to plant.”

When he was growing up, his family always had a vegetable garden, and he remembers the vegetables having so much more flavour than what you can buy in the store today. He wanted that for others, and was also hoping parents might sign up to get their children or even grandchildren involved, and teach them something about how food grows.

In addition to the exercise and fresh air a community garden provides, many enjoy it for the socializing, he says.

His wife, Sally Mitchell, will be planting flowers — roses, astilbes, coral bells and globe thistles.

He says he may can some tomatoes, and if he still has too many, give them away — once you taste a fresh tomato, you’re hooked.

“A beautiful bowl of heirloom tomatoes makes a better gift when you’re going to a dinner party than a bottle of wine,” he has discovered.

“We took a bowl to a house party, and the hosts said they didn’t want to eat them because they looked so good. But when they did, they were blown away by the flavour.”

Trachsel has nothing but praise for town staff, with several different departments involved helping to rush the project along in the two months since council approval in order for the gardens to be ready for planting this spring.