Community Gardens

As the air warms and sun shines longer each day, we all begin to dream about the promise of spring and summer and with that, we might think about nourishing our bodies—in many ways. I think about planting seeds to prepare for my garden and of course, all the activities that warm weather brings like, hiking, camping and more gardening. You may not be interested in hiking or camping but if gardening sounds good to you, I’d like to tell you about three different gardening opportunities to take advantage of in 2015:

Community Gardens

The mission of Community Gardens of Anchorage is to “help people grow food in and around the city”. A community garden is a piece of land cultivated by a group of people with the common interest of growing local food and flowers. These gardens provide access to fresh produce and plants as well as a sense of community and a connection to the environment. There are three community gardens in Anchorage with a total of 110 plots. New gardeners can begin registering for their own plot on April 7^th at 11AM by contacting the Fairview Recreation Center. If you would like to volunteer time rather than rent a space of your own, there is constant need for people to help manage the gardens and support the participants. For information about volunteering please call 907-343-4587. For more information about the community gardens please visit the community gardens website.

Adopt-a-Garden

Would you like to be involved in making our city more vibrant and welcoming? Adopt-a-Garden is a great way to give back to our wonderful city and get outdoors at the same time! When you volunteer, Parks and Recreation will post a sign at your adopted garden recognizing the work that you put in. The responsibilities of those who adopt a garden are:

• Water twice a week.
• Weed or “deadhead” at least once each month.
• Pull the flowers at the end of the season.

For more information, contact Michelle Fehribach at fehribachmr@muni.org or call 907-343-4587.

Your Own Indoor Herb Garden

If you are not interested or are unable to help with the aforementioned opportunities, you can still do a little gardening. Why not plant your own indoor herb garden? I love to cook and I really love to cook with fresh ingredients. Using my own herbs that I can grab right from my own kitchen is truly ideal. Even better, an indoor herb garden is clean, easy, and fun!

How to get started:

1. Select the herbs you would like to grow (the best options are oregano, rosemary, basil, peppermint, chives, parsley and thyme).
2. You will need to have one pot (with drainage holes) for each herb selected (do not plant more than one herb in each pot).
3. You will also need gravel, fresh soil and some way to label your plants.
4. Fill the bottom of each pot with ¾ inch gravel and then fill the pot to top, with soil.
5. Dig a hole in the soil to place your seed or seedling and cover back up with soil.
6. Make sure that when you water, it is not too much. Let the soil dry out between watering and look for yellow leaves as a sign that your plants need less water.

The beauty of this is that it is something you can do throughout the year!

When we garden, we burn calories and tend to eat healthier foods, because we are growing them! March is the time to decide whether or not you want to be involved with these activities, so that you can start planning.  Get involved and help keep yourself busy, active and healthy!