People who love gardening but are unable to have one due to space or other obstacles will soon be able to.
In spring 2012, Humboldt will have a Community Garden, open to all residents of the community.
Although they already have the land, said Cynthia Stumborg, one of the organizers of the garden, they are not yet ready to share the location with the public until their plans are finalized.
"We're hoping to have the Community Garden site announced to the public by the end of the summer and have plots ready to be planted next spring," said Stumborg.
The idea for the Community Garden came out of a meeting for the Collective Kitchen in the spring of 2011.
When the Collective Kitchen started in Humboldt, they had the vision of providing food security for the people of Humboldt.
After a meeting in April, the group decided to developed a new organization called the Food Connection for All.
"Our Community Garden is working under the umbrella of the Food Connection for All," said Stumborg.
The Food Connection for all encompasses the Community Garden, Collective Kitchen and a local food directory.
Stumborg was put in charge of organizing the Community Garden and started by looking at what other communities were doing with theirs.
"I immediately contacted... the Community Garden director in Saskatoon," said Stumborg.
She used the information she gathered to create a model to get the Community Garden organized.
After creating a basic plan for the garden, she presented it to the City of Humboldt through Community and Leisure Services director Darrell Lessmeister.
City council liked the idea of the Community Garden and came up with the property to use for it, said Stumborg.
While she was making a plan for the garden, they received a donation of old wood, which was used to build a raised bed near Westminster United Church, in order to raise awareness for the future Community Garden in Humboldt.
Not only did the church let them build the raised bed, they also let Stumborg set up a rain barrel and let her use both their water and garden shed while working in the living billboard.
"They are really supportive there," said Stumborg.
Stumborg and a volunteer, Bev Keyser, planted carrots and beets in the bed.
"We planted them a little later in June than you would normally plant them," said Stumborg.
Since the vegetables were planted later than they would be normally, Stumborg hopes they will still grow and she can then either donate them to the Collective Kitchen or the Humboldt Food Bank.
She explained that anyone in the community is welcome to work on the small garden, which she calls a "living billboard."
Stumborg was also invited to a Communities in Bloom meeting this spring to present the idea of a Community Garden to members of the community who are gardeners themselves.
"I was just amazed at the amount of excitement that came out of these gardeners because they had ideas about so many things that could be done which was really wonderful," said Stumborg.
"Plus it was another way to let the public know about the Community Garden."
The board of directors for the Community Garden is now looking at the site where the garden will be and trying to decide how to best utilize the space.
"We'd like to have a designated area in the garden with plots where people can maybe pay a small rental fee to use a small plot and garden under the guidelines put forward by the Community Garden," said Stumborg.
They are also considering putting in raised plots for people with disabilities to use, so they do not have to kneel on the ground to garden.
"We'd also like to have a place in the garden for educating people," said Stumborg.
They have also been discussing putting in a picnic or resting area in the garden for those who use it.
"We're really excited about it," said Stumborg. "There's been a really wonderful response to the whole thing."
