Preparations are underway for another season at the Morden Community Garden, which is overseen by the Many Hands Resource Centre.
The garden had been re-established last year at the 40-acre parcel of land purchased and being developed by the City of Morden north on First Street.
Many Hands executive director Mariyam Tsygankova noted the number of plots and sizes will all be the same as in previous years, and registration is set for April 23 starting at 7 p.m. at the 500 Stephen Community Centre.
People will need to be there to choose their plot and make their payment of $30. An application form can be found in advance online at manyhandsrc.com, but paper copies will be also available that evening.
“If people had a plot last year and want to keep it, they needed to let us know back in October. If that didn’t happen, they will still be able to pick from the available plots,” said Tsygankova.
There will also be a short information session where organizers will go over the basic rules for gardeners and answer any questions.
“We will also have some fun door prizes, including gardening tools. This year, actually, we are really excited because we received funding from the Healthy Together program,” noted Tsygankova. “We work closely with the City of Morden. They support the gardens with things like water, tilling, and compost.
“We are also planning some improvements to the garden space, possibly adding picnic tables or small gazebo so that the gardeners could have a place to rest and connect,” she added, noting as well that they may offer some workshops throughout the season.
They get a lot of people who sign up every year, but it is also nice to see some new faces, Tsygankova said.
“Everyone is welcome, whether you are experienced or just starting out. It’s a great way to learn and to connect and grow your own food.
“And we try to encourage food bank clients to use this program,” she added. “If you are a food bank client, you will get 50 per cent off [a plot]. We had a number of food bank clients who participated in the community garden program, so hopefully, we will get more people interested.
Tsygankova sees the garden as being a good tie-in to the Many Hands food bank, which also hopes to again makes use of a few of the plots itself.
“I think we had three or five left last year, but we used those ones for a Many Hands garden. We were growing food for the food bank,” she said. “We believe in helping people to become more self sufficient, and a community garden is a simple but powerful way do that while also building a stronger and more connected community.
“We see how important the access to healthy food is and how difficult it can be for many families to afford it. That’s why a community garden is such a valuable part of our work.”
