[Community_garden] First community garden in Saline, Michigan - USA

[Don Boekelheide]

Ann Arbor News
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Saline OKs shared garden

Site between schools will hold communal growing spaces

BY LISA ALLMENDINGER
News Special Writer 

Property in Saline between Woodland Meadows Elementary
and Weber-Blaess schools off Woodland Drive will burst
alive with the greens, reds, oranges and yellows of a
new community garden this summer.

 By a unanimous vote of the City Council on Monday
night, residents in the Saline Area Schools district
will have the opportunity to help launch the city's
first community garden.

 Calesta Harrison proposed the idea to the Saline
Parks Commission in January.

 After receiving unanimous approval of the Parks
Commission, the concept plan for the Saline Community
Garden also got rave reviews from the City Council.

 "The gardens will provide community-building and
sharing. It's a really worthwhile project,'' said
Council Member Terri Sibo-Koenig.

 Gardeners will be responsible for all aspects of
their individual plots, according to the group's
information. Gardeners must plant three rows of crops
by June 15 and plots will be inspected three times a
season to ensure that gardeners are abiding by the
rules. No chemical weed killers, pesticides,
herbicides or black plastic mulch will be allowed in
the garden area.

 Individual fencing will be allowed, provided it's
less than 2 feet tall and neatly built.

 Plans call for space for flowers, herbs and rows for
the hungry, according to the garden's rules and
regulation.

 Registration begins April 1. A 5-foot-by-10-foot plot
will be $15. Two 5-by-10 plots are $25. Also available
are 4-foot-by-6-foot raised beds for $10 each.

 In addition, there will be a $10 cleanup deposit,
which will be refunded if the plot is cleaned by the
owner at the end of the season.

 "This is an awesome project for Saline,'' said
Council Member Kathy Roth. She said the proposed
layout for the gardens included raised beds to make it
accessible for people in wheelchairs or with other
handicaps.

 A community meeting will be held at the Saline Train
Depot on Saturday at 3 p.m. For more information, go
to www.salinegarden.org.

 Lisa Allmendinger can be reached at
lallmendinger at sbcglobal.net

©2007 Ann Arbor News