Okotoks community garden is growing by popular demand.
The garden, located at the east end of McRae street, currently has 35 plots and another 25 on the wait list.
It is run by the Healthy Okotoks Coalition (HOC), which charges gardeners $35 that pays for water and upgrades to the garden.
HOC president, Wayne Meikle said when the garden was originally planned 15 years ago there was space set aside for an expansion.
“We knew the garden would expand,” he says. “We just didn’t know how fast the town would grow.”
In the first few years some plots remained available, but over the years the waiting list has been growing, he said. There has been a return to gardening for a number of reasons, he said.
“There is a trend in society to get back to this – growing your own vegetables,” he said. “Its recreation. Its actually hard exercise and its cheap, its very inexpensive.”
In Okotoks there are lots of people who don’t have the ability to garden at home, he added.
“Okotoks backyards are not that big and more and more people are living in condos,” Meikle said.
The expansion will add 25 plots and a garden bed for the Okotoks Food Bank.
Meikle said originally there were garden beds for the food bank, but that ceased around 10 years ago.
He said it will be great to offer a spot to the food bank again.
“They always need fresh vegetables,” he said.
The beds will be reconfigured slightly. Some existing garden beds near the fence will be moved, Meikle said. Weeds are coming through from the other side of the fence and infesting garden beds.
He estimates the cost of the materials to build the new garden beds will be just over $6,000.
“Right now I’m writing up grants,” Meikle said.
He is also hoping local lumber yards and other business will donate materials to lower the cost.
Volunteers will do the work, Meikle said. When the garden was first built in 2001 it was done with 15 to 20 volunteers per day.
“It is very labour intensive to build a community garden,” he said.
The Kinsman were instrumental in building the first garden and Meikle said he will again reach out to service organizations for volunteers to help build the garden.
The compost heaps at the garden will also be expanded and improved, Meikle said.
The community garden site has room to add another 25 plots in the future as demand continues to grow, he said.
