Common Ground Garden Project is lush with plants that will soon be producing more fresh vegetables for community groups that help those in need.
Rene Michalak, with ReThink Red Deer, said so far this season 5.4 kilograms of radishes and 13.5 kilograms of greens, like lettuce and spinach, have been harvested.
Primarily the produce has gone to the Mustard Seed, but Red Deer Food Bank is also a recipient and some outreach groups, like Central Alberta Immigrant Association, that is managing a few garden plots at the site from which they can harvest.
In 2021, the first year for the project, 200 pounds of produce was grown and distributed.
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The urban farming project is located on four acres of city-owned vacant land that’s eventually slated for development in southwest corner of Capstone, near Troubled Monk on 45th Street.
The project is a partnership between the City of Red Deer and ReThink Red Deer that aims to address food security in the city while creating a safe and vibrant public space that offers accessibility, inclusion, sustainability, and fellowship.
This year volunteers installed a second 10,000-square-foot raised gardening bed, edged by hay bales to provide a longer growing season.
There are also plans to install a greenhouse.
“We’re trying to demonstrate all different types of growing techniques. The degree of difficulty here is pretty high so this is the learning ground for growing in central Alberta in challenging conditions,” Michalak said.
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He said apart from rabbits getting under the fence, more people are slowing becoming aware of the project, and volunteers are always welcome.
There’s no formal volunteer recruitment and training program yet, and organizers are trying to reach volunteers that have some gardening experience.
“The trouble is when people have their own garden to manage and labour to pour into it, there’s not much left at the end of the day to go to another project.
“It’s such a small window of (gardening) time, and a lot of people go on vacation in the summer, so we’ve got these extra challenges.”
Volunteers are encouraged to come out Friday mornings, from 9 a.m. to noon, to join in a meet-up to help out at the garden.
Visit rethinkreddeer.ca/commonground for more information.