New Waterford Community Garden

Fallow Year

Please note the New Waterford community garden is having a fallow year–a year of rest. Though we are not actively planting crops this year, we will still be maintaining the garden (weeding, etc). In the meantime, you can enjoy our many perennials and flowers.

Location

The New Waterford Community Garden is located at the top of the hill on King St, across from the hospital, in front of Sunrise Court on MacLeod Ave.

Our Code of Conduct

We are committed to using natural, organic, and regenerative growing practices.

No chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or weed killers are permitted.
To protect the life of the soil, we do not till beds with a rototiller or similar gas-powered machines.

History

The garden was started by a group of volunteers in 2012. In 2018, Nicole Dixon, Wild Town founder, was asked by then town councillor (now local MLA) Kendra Coombes to take over its day-to-day operations.

The community garden is volunteer-run. In 2019 and 2020, Wild Town received funding from the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services, Clean Foundation, and the New Waterford Rotary to help towards the hiring of 1 full-time and 2 part-time youth workers. This year (2022), we acknowledge support from CBRM Recreation’s Active Living Department.

Get in Touch!

For more information about the community garden, please email bloom@wildtown.ca.

Photo Album

Along with vegetables, we grow many flowers, especially sunflowers.

April 7, 2020. During 2019/2020 we were able to rebuild several of the garden's beds thanks in part to a donation from the New Waterford Rotary. Lumber is sourced locally from River Ryan Lumber.

June 28, 2020. The newer beds are visible (their wood is more golden).

The garden at its overgrown peak.

Asparagus sign in front of growing asparagus.

Flowers are important for any garden because they attract bees and other pollinators.

Teddy bear sunflowers with anise hyssop (aka liquorice mint).

Foxglove.

Harvesting strawberries with our 2019 Grow @ Home/Town Grow'r youth participants.

Tomatoes growing in one of our re-built 4x8 foot raised garden beds.

Mint. We grow as many perennials as possible. Perennials are more sustainable and easier to manage.

Some of our harvest bounty: garlic scapes and strawberries.

We devote a few plots to garlic. Garlic is very easy to maintain and quite plentiful. We sell the excess on our online shop, proceeds from which go back into the community garden.

Garlic has two harvests: scapes (garlic flowers) are picked in July and the bulbs are harvested 3-4 weeks later.

Cured garlic, a few months after harvest.

These Super Moon white pumpkins have been a hit!

This one got huge.

Here's the same pumpkin, ready to become a jack o'lantern.

Bee-utiful pumpkin!