Saskatchewan started slowly re-opening this week, which allowed many organizations across the province to get going. The Estevan community garden also proceeded with preparations for the new gardening season.
Shayna Burrell, who is one of the gardeners, said last Saturday they started working up the beds, putting new fertilizer and rototilling the plots. While doing so they had to follow all precautionary measures related to COVID-19.
There were just a few people doing the prep work this year, and now the gardeners can come and plant their beds whenever they want to. But Burrell underlined that everybody should still keep distance and obey other rules, most of which were put in place this year.
“We have a few new rules. We are closing the bench; nobody is allowed to use that. We are closing the shed to our gardeners, so they can’t go in there and use the tools. You have to bring your own tools this year,” said Burrell.
“We are going to put up a sanitization area near the water hose because everybody has to use that. So we are going to have to sanitize it before and after we use it, and make it safe for the next person.”
Outside of pandemic-related changes, the board members also decided to plant some rhubarb in the garden and also will put up some perennials around the sign to make the community garden look more attractive.
Also, after some vandalism occurred at the location last year, they decided to put up some security lights to try to prevent it this year.
People can come in when they want to plant. Some gardeners usually wait until June when there is no more risk of frosts, and others may start planting potatoes as soon as they can to get a head start. Burrell said that last year she didn’t see anybody when she was planting her bed, and she assumes that people won’t have problems because everyone comes at their convenience. But even if some families come at the same time, as long as they are keeping the six-foot distance they will be fine.
Burrell pointed out that people can’t plant anything questionable like marijuana, but outside of that they are free to organize their beds the way they want to.
There are 12 gardeners this year and they using 14 out of 18 plots. If the four beds don’t fill up before the middle of May, the board already has some plans for them.
“We did get a grant for new beds, but we are not sure if we’ll be able to build them this year or if we’ll have to wait until the next year to do that,” said Burrell.
The board hopes to replace four beds with new ones using the money they received. However, if the social distance rules will still be in place, the project might be postponed until a later time.
If someone wants to join the community garden, they can get a hold of chairperson Theresa Beck at 306-461-8643. The fee is $30 for the plot and people have until May 15.
Burrell added that the plot fee is used to pay for water, garbage pickup and other minor expenses they may encounter throughout the season.
