LAC LA BICHE - Interest and vegetables continue to grow in the community gardens at the Alexander Hamilton Park.
Lac La Biche County crews were busy last week getting the 59 community garden plots ready for the May 10 arrival of community green thumbs.
Dirt and gravel were hauled to the community garden area, filling in several portions of the low-lying area affected by flooding from winter thaw. The newly packed base is hoped to stop flooding issues in the future.
"Every year, a large section of the garden gets flooded, delaying when the plots can be tilled to allow gardeners in," says Lac La Biche County spokesperson Jihad Moghrabi. "The ground remediation work ...will help mitigate annual flooding problems at the garden."
The community gardens have been part of the Alexander Hamilton Park since the park's inception 20 years ago. Over the years, the garden has expanded the number of plots. This year, local gardeners will be working on 35 ground plots and 24 raised beds.
It's free to rent a ground plot and the raised beds can be rented from the municipality for $20 per season.
"To obtain a garden plot or a raised bed, eligible residents complete a simple form any time from April 1 each year," explained Moghrabi, saying returning gardeners get first dibs on the the plots. "Previous garden participants are first offered the chance to renew their garden participation in the month of March. After the March 31 deadline, all unassigned plots are made available to any applicant, on first-to-apply, first-served basis."
Still room to grow
Going into the opening week of the garden program, County officials say there are still four ground plots and four raised beds available.
The garden area is fenced with a gated entrance to keep unwanted guests from unauthorized harvests
More information on the community gardens can be found on the Lac La Biche County website.
