Maplehurst tenants dig into community garden beds

This is the first story in a series about community gardening in Dartmouth.

Anyone planning a garden feels anticipation as spring arrives, especially first-time gardeners hoping to test their mettle in the oft-challenging pastime. For Emma Sanders and Noah Wolfe, this anticipation had grown for more than a year, since they first signed up to claim a garden box outside their apartment complex.

“We know a lot of people who really like gardening, and it seems to bring them a lot of joy,” Sanders told the Post. “We’ve always been like ‘oh, we should try that’ … and see if we can try to emulate that a little bit.”

The pair has lived at the Maplehurst Apartments for a few years. Inspired by family and friends, they wanted to try their own garden, so they put their name on the list to have a box outside the apartment complex.

This May, they got the news that their wait was over. They finally got access to a box.

“We were so excited, so we went and bought our tomatoes and planted them,” said Sanders.

“I’m sure seasoned gardeners would know when a good time is to plant things, and the start of May is, for most things, not really the best time,” Sanders said with a chuckle.

While neither of them has direct experience tending to the plants in their new garden, they were both exposed to gardens in their families over the years.

Wolfe has some experience gardening as a farm assistant at North Grove Community Centre, and Sanders said she “took a few stabs” at growing things in the past. Still, they consider themselves to be “newbies.”

Sanders and Wolfe have limited gardening experience, but they were inspired by their families to give it a try. Their plot is a mix of vegetables, flowers, and herbs they wanted to grow. (Photo: Amy Ward/South Dartmouth Post)

When planning their garden, Sanders and Wolfe each picked a few things they wanted to try. This resulted in their “eclectic” mix of plants.

First, they have plants to produce food, including a few peas, beans, tomatoes, strawberries, and a ground cherry plant.

Then there’s a “decorative region” with forget-me-not seeds from a friend, marigolds, and a colorful pink leafy plant.

“We said, ‘Let’s each pick a pretty thing,’ and that’s what happened,” Sanders explained.

Finally, they have a small herb garden with some plants left by the previous owner of the plot, including oregano, lavender, and chives.

“As you can see, I think as newbies, we kind of picked things that were intriguing, not necessarily that would grow,” Sanders said.

Garden community

The garden boxes outside the Maplehurst Apartments are familiar to any trail user.

There are around 16 boxes made of recycled plastic, each filled with dirt for gardens for nearby apartment residents.

Sanders said the process of getting a box was straightforward. They put their name on a list, waited to be assigned one, signed a plot agreement, and the space was theirs for the year.

The main difficulty was waiting to see if any of the boxes were available.

Sanders and Wolfe put their name in for a box last year but were assigned to a box that someone was already using. That person had seniority, so Sanders and Wolfe had to wait for another year to start their garden.

“They’re actually a very hot commodity,” Sanders said.

They added their name to the list again for this year, and this time they managed to secure a box.

So far, they have met a few other gardeners by the boxes. Sanders said the apartment complex has a good community overall, but there are not many opportunities to chat with neighbours, apart from the annual block party. Now with a garden, they’ve had more interactions with others living nearby.

“If we’re chatting with people, it’s usually down here,” Sanders said.

Gardening process, lessons learned

Sanders said watering the garden is one difficulty they’ve faced on a regular basis. There is nothing on site to make water available closer to the gardens, so they carry water over from their residence.

“It’s a good trek from the apartment,” said Sanders.

Since the boxes are free to use, Sanders said she doesn’t mind too much.

“I’m just happy to be here,” she said. “I’m happy I got a box, so I guess I can’t complain about the water situation.”

Sanders said the garden is also helping her to practice patience as she waits for the plants to grow.

“It’s a good lesson for me because I do like a bit of instant gratification,” she said, laughing.

Sanders also said she’s been surprised by the little successes they’ve had so far. One example is being able to grow a plant from seed. It was something she didn’t think she could do, so when she saw their peas starting to sprout, she was pleasantly surprised.

“Oh my gosh, like, it actually worked!” Sanders said, recalling the feeling of seeing the sprouts poke through the dirt. “I followed the instructions on how to grow a plant, and it grew a plant! That’s so awesome!”

While it is still early in the growing season, Sanders said they would likely apply to keep their box next year.

“Being newbies this year, we’ve already had some sad fatalities of plants in the learning process,” Sanders said, chuckling. “This year we will be pleasantly surprised if we get some fruit and that kind of thing, next year … hopefully we’ve learned some things and we can keep at it.”