Community garden plots available at Markham Fairgrounds

June 5, 2014
Yorkregion.com
By Amanda Persico

Wanting to get down and dirty with your own garden this year, but lacking in space?

The Markham Fairgrounds has started a community garden program, where residents can rent garden plots.

“Growing your own food becomes a labour of love,” Markham Fairgrounds community garden co-odinator Michelle Ford said.

“Also, planting your own food brings you closer to where your food comes from.”

The 10-feet-by-10-feet community garden plots, which cost $25 for one growing season, have been tilled and fenced and are ready for planting.

The community garden program is also paired with a local planting program for elementary schools.

Through the program, students from junior kindergarten to Grade 2 will be charged with growing sunflowers and pumpkins from seed.

Once the seedlings sprout and start to grow, the plants will be transferred around the fairgrounds.

“We don’t want these students to just visit the fair, we want them to be part of it,” Ford said. “When they come the fair in the fall, the kids can point and say, ‘I grew that flower.’”

This year’s pilot project includes more than a dozen community garden plots and the goal is to expand the program year after year, Ford said.

Residents who rent out a plot are encouraged to bring their own tools and they will have access to water on site. Garden plots need to be cleaned out in time for the annual fair in October.

For more information, visit markhamfair.ca