ELK POINT – With a successful first season behind them, the organizers of Elk Point Community Gardens are looking forward to the arrival of another season of lush growth and another opportunity for the community to get growing.
Sue Campbell, who heads the group, says she will be taking reservations for the raised beds west of Elk Point Municipal Library until May 1, or until all beds are allocated, “and all the same rules apply,” regarding care of the beds and the after-harvest cleanup date.
Prior to planting, the group hopes to spread each bed with compost to enhance the soil contributed by the Town of Elk Point last year, and also to combat any settling that may have occurred over the winter.
Last year’s application for a grant to add a garden shed and gazebo to the area was unsuccessful, but the group is trying once again with the assistance of a grant writer who feels funding could be available from a different source.
What to seed? Campbell has been in touch with the person who brought a wealth of West Coast seeds to last year’s plant swap, and says she is willing to come back this year, and the group agreed that this year, they would prefer to have the seed giveaway earlier, possibly before the end of April, to allow seeds to be started indoors, and the plant swap later in May.
While discussion was primarily about the raised beds, Elk Point’s planters, such as those on sidewalks outside businesses, were also a topic, with Jennifer Van der Hoek displaying her plans for a display celebrating Elk Point Elementary School’s ‘Tigers Pride’ in the planter near the school’s entrance door, and discussion of the opportunity to have even more planters around town than usual, with Elk Point this year moving into their first year of judging by Communities in Bloom, following last year’s evaluation.
This year’s Communities in Bloom colour is orange, and this should result in an array of very cheerful displays by the judging date in early August.
