Want to find a community garden plot in Saskatoon this spring?
Hi, I am very eager to find a community gardening opportunity in Saskatoon. Can you point me in the right direction?
- J
There’s still a few bits of snow lingering on the ground, but already I’m seeing a lot of interest from people who want to start growing some of their own food this year. Many people are planning on digging up part of their own yard (or lawn!), but many others are looking for a community garden plot–an excellent alternative for apartment or condo-dwellers, house renters with unsympathetic landlords, and those with shady home lots. It can be hard to find a space, though. Where to start?
- Join the Saskatoon Community Gardening Network. This group meets every month or two to discuss issues related to gardening and community gardening in particular. It’s a great chance meet fellow gardeners and find out more about what’s going on across the city. To get on the contact list and find out the next meeting time (May, likely) call Dana at CHEP (Child Hunger & Education Program) or email dana@chep.org. You can also join the Facebook group here.
- Apply to join an established garden. There are a number of established community gardens in the city, but spaces can be at a premium and there are often waiting lists. City Park CG will be back in business this spring after having extensive work done last autumn to improve drainage/flooding problems, but it cannot take any more gardeners this year. The Nutana CG (which lost some plots because of an electrical box installation) is also already full. Sadly, it will only be at its current home near Broadway for one more growing season, as a building is being planned for the site. We’re working with the city to find a suitable new site in the area. If I hear of any individual gardens that are accepting new gardeners directly, I will post about it immediately.
- Help start a new garden. There is a group of people trying to get a CG established in Caswell right now, but finding a suitable site has caused delays. You can join the Caswell Community Garden Facebook group here to get updates. Another group is trying to get set up in Eastview. Again, I’ll be posting more info about how you can help soon.
- Get in on the ground floor with a new garden. St. Martin’s United Church (Wilson Crescent & Clarence Avenue) is creating a community garden on the church grounds and is now taking applications for this summer. You can pick one up at the church office or call 343-7101 to get one mailed/emailed to you.
- Get in touch with CHEP. CHEP has been very involved with supporting community gardening and finding places for people to garden for years. It has a number of garden sites and is always looking for ways to expand the number of plots available. You can have a look at its community gardening brochure (somewhat out of date, but which will give you a general idea of how things work) here. Dana can help you apply to get a plot at the various CHEP community gardens and also has up-to-date info on other gardening options throughout the city. Phone her on 655-5322 for an application (the deadline is coming up fast–20 April) or email her at dana@chep.org.
- Let your city councillor know that community garden access is a priority. The City of Saskatoon is quite supportive of community garden initiatives in theory, but there are currently some logistical and organisational challenges which I’ll be writing about in detail soon. Another major challenge is finding a suitable permanent space that also has easily available water for irrigation. In the older neighbourhoods in particular, there is less green space available than one would think.
I’ll be posting more information on specific gardening opportunities, and will also have advice on finding alternatives to a community garden plot soon.
(Thursday: I’ve edited this post to reflect the conversation I had with Dana from CHEP this morning)
