The new FRIENDS of Gilman Urban Gardens got dirty again this weekend, installing the remaining basic infrastructure for a new community garden that was started two weeks ago by the determination of one resident, and the help of many others.
Volunteers spent the last two weekends prepping the 2,450-square-foot area along 13th Avenue West and Gilman Drive West by removing trees and shrubs, carving pathways and tilling the plot.
After buying a condo across from the site in October, project head Charlie Hoselton said he kept thinking it would be nice to plant something so he didn't have to stare at a big mound of dirt that had turned into a dumping ground for trash.
"I kept looking at it month after month wanting to do something," he said. "Finally, I got the idea to make it a community garden."
This past weekend, 20 volunteers installed rain barrels and finished cutting in all the pathways.
Eventually, Hoselton hopes the city will provide water to the site but he said the city needs to see the community garden up and functioning before it commits to anything. The previous weekend volunteers removed black locust trees, which were replaced with five fruit (three apple, one plum and one cherry) trees this weekend.
"We spent a lot of time harvesting all the usable parts of those trees that we could. We built probably about 75 steps on the site from trees we removed and wood stakes for gardening," Hoselton said. "We chipped the rest of it, and we'll use those chips in garden as well. We're trying to be as self-sufficient as we possible can."
Plots were assigned Tuesday night. As of press time, 16 of the 32 plots were spoken for. Depending on plot size, gardeners will pay a varying fee to cover the project's start-up expenses. Smaller plots cost $50, medium ones $75, followed by $100 for one spot and $154 for the largest plots. Hoselton has covered the project costs, $1,200 so far, and he expects to spend up to $800 more to purchase the rest of the needed supplies.
Apart from height restrictions on certain sections of the site, Hoselton said, "People can grow whatever they want. I personally am going to grow vegetables and flowers, probably some herbs. I know a lot of people I've talked to are interested in vegetable gardening but some just want to grow flowers."
The site's infrastructure still needs some work before the 33 garden plots can be planted. Hoselton plans to take a sloped plot, which will be more difficult to garden and less appealing to potential gardeners.
He expects planting will begin today, but the group still needs materials for retaining walls, non-chemically treated lumber for constructing raised garden beds and landscaping rocks. Any compost and wood chips would help too, Hoselton said.
From volunteers to passersby, the community response has been nothing but thankful, Hoselton said.
"We keep getting nothing but overwhelming positive responses from people in the neighborhood," Hoselton said. "Everybody's just loving what we're doing."[[In-content Ad]]
