Garden plots: If you dream of growing enough food to sustain your family but lack the land, check this out: The Volunteers of America and Transition Port Gardner are now offering large, tilled community garden plots on a rural piece of land east of Lowell-Larimer Road.
Available plots, as large as a quarter-acre, are located on 10 acres of river valley land within a 100-year flood plain, which means there is some flooding risk, but that the soils are naturally fertile.
Half the land will be used as a food bank farm to benefit the Everett Food Bank with help from volunteers.
Plots can be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
Prices are $100 per year for a 20-by-40-foot plot, $150 a year for a 40-foot-square plot and $300 a year for a quarter-acre plot.
Water is not available at the site, but organizer Dean Smith said the water table is high in the valley, which should minimize the need for watering once plants are established.
Smith said Transition Port Gardner hopes to attract social service organizations that focus on food as well as gardeners who want to grow a significant amount of the food they eat.
Because the land is east of a large red barn, the project has been dubbed The Red Barn Community Farm.
Volunteers are needed to plant, weed and harvest the food bank portion of the project.
Transition Port Gardner is a nonprofit, grass-roots organization focused on sustainability and community.
To volunteer or get more information, call Dean Smith at 425-328-9979. To reserve a plot at the farm, fill out an application at www.transitionport gardner.org/garden.
Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037, sjackson@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
