If you’ve ever wanted to start your home vegetable garden but didn’t know how, your time has come.
This week, the Sudbury Community Garden Network unveiled its Home Garden project, which aims to get more people involved in growing their own food.
“Many community partners have been collaborating to offer ‘Cultivate Your Neighbourhood’ programs for a number of years, including projects to enhance community gardens and involve primary school children at the gardens.” said Colleen Zilio, chair of the Sudbury Community Garden Network.
“This year, we want to help people start their own home gardens so they can grow food and discover the joy of gardening. This project is for residents who do not already have a vegetable garden and is especially beneficial for those who are temporarily unemployed during the pandemic. Gardening is great for physical and mental health, and community wellness.”
The network describes the Home Garden project as “a new, community driven, eco-friendly initiative to support food security and encourage physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The goal is to foster the creation of 300 new vegetable gardens across the city.
If you’re new to gardening, you have a chance to receive free soil to help you start your garden, as well as free seeds and access to resources and webinars to help you learn to grow vegetables and herbs.
The project is being offered by the Sudbury Community Garden Network, Sudbury Shared Harvest and the Sudbury Food Bank, in partnership with the Greater Sudbury Food Policy Council, the City of Greater Sudbury, and local businesses.
If you happen to grow a successful garden, you can donate your surplus produce.
Garden soil will be delivered free of charge to 25 private residences in each of Greater Sudbury’s 12 wards, between May 11 and 31. Residents may choose soil for a 10-foot x 10-foot garden (one cubic yard of soil at 3 inches) or a 5-foot x 5-foot garden (half-cubic yard of soil at 3 inches).
To register for the Home Garden project, visit sudburycommunitygardens.ca/soil. Participation in the program is first come, first served.
To receive free seeds and access how-to videos and other information to help you grow a garden, visit the Garden Network website sudburycommunitygardens.ca/cultivate. Sudbury Shared Harvest and the Greater Sudbury Public Library teamed up to produce Grow Your Own webinars for the project.
Local businesses and volunteers who would like to support this not-for-profit initiative are most welcome and appreciated. Please call and leave a message 705-674-4455 x4236 to donate or volunteer.
