Moosomin community gardens ready to go in May
April 19, 2021, 1:50 pm
Kevin Weedmark
Community garden spots will be available in Mooosmin in May.
A location at the south end of town, near the South Cemetery, has been prepared.
Councillor Murray Gray brought up the suggestion for the garden initially and selected the site.
“The location is the old driving range up behind the town shop, next to SARCAN and the South Cemetery,” he said.
The Pipestone Kin-Ability Centre, which used to operate the driving range, transferred the land to the town.
The land was worked up last fall and good soil was brought in from a farm.
“I would like to hear from people as soon as possible if they’re interest in a spot,” he said.
“I plan to have it ready for the first weekend in May for planting, the 7th and 8th.
“There were several people signed up but I’m expecting a lot more interest now that people know it will actually be happening in three weeks.
“The plots are 10x15 or 10x30. I’m excited about it. I’m renting a plot myself.
“We marked it out, killed the grass and worked it up but we didn’t think the dirt was good enough to grow a good garden so took out what was there and we hauled in some good black dirt that we got from a farmer.
“The cost to rent a garden plot is just $20 for a small plot and $40 for a bigger plot for the year. I want to get it going. It’s not cost-recovery, it’s more of a community service.”
Gray said he expects there will be a lot of interest in the garden plots.
Gray said the town will do everything to prepare the garden plots—people who take a plot can show up with their seeds in May and start planting.
“We’ll have the ground worked up and fertilized and ready for them to come in and put their own seeds into the ground,” he said. “The plots will be marked and that will be their plot to look after for the year.
“We’ll supply water through a hydrant just across the way at the South Cemetery. We’ll just run a hose from there for the first year. We really just want to get it up and going so that we can build on it.”
Giving everyone the opportunity to garden
What motivated Gray to get the Community Garden off the ground?
“In my own yard I don’t have a garden and I know a lot of people who either live in the Villas or in condos just don’t have space or don’t have a desire to rip up their lawn in order to have a garden, but who wouldn’t mind having a bit of a garden. This way everyone has the opportunity to have a garden whether they have a yard or not, whether they have the space or not.
“It’s something that has been very popular in bigger communities for a lot of years so it’s just something for the last couple of years that I thought would be a nice addition to our community.”
The town looked at several possible locations before deciding on the south end of town.
“We purchased that land from the Kinability Centre, and I thought because of the water being close by that it would be a perfect fit,” says Gray. “There’s lots of room for parking and access is good and it just seems to be a nice fit for us.”
How to sign up
Anyone interested in a Community Garden plot can contact Murray Gray at 306-435-9062 or the town office at 306-435-2988 or twn.moosomin@sasktel.net
“They can either leave their name with the employees at the Town Office, they can call there or get ahold of myself if they have any questions or if they are interested in a plot,” said Gray.
“We want everyone to take responsibility and take care of their plots so the weeds don’t get into their neighbor’s plot. We want to have a nice garden for people to grow some vegetables.
“There is definitely an environmental side of it too that I think is important, because if we can grow more food here and less groceries have to be trucked in, that’s good for the environment. Having a garden is actually very environmentally friendly.”
