From vegetables to flowers, there’s always something beautiful growing in Richmond’s community gardens.
But what about plots that look unkempt and filled with weeds?
A few garden plots in Richmond’s Terra Nova Community Garden, managed by Urban Bounty, appear to look abandoned or rarely tended to.
However, Grace Augustinowicz, community programs manager at Urban Bounty, told the Richmond News there are no abandoned plots at all.
“There is one plot (in Terra Nova) where there is a new gardener having challenges with horsetail and another in the process of being assigned,” said Augustinowicz.
“Sometimes the gardeners fall behind but they catch up in a couple weeks.”
When asked what happens to garden plots that are abandoned, Augustinowicz said Urban Bounty has a “thorough and fair process” that can take up to a month.
A first notice is issued and gardeners have two weeks to respond, followed by a second notice and a one-week response time.
“If there is no response after that or a violation on the plot is not fixed then the plot is forfeited,” said Augustinowicz, adding it gets added to a vacant list automatically.
“It takes some time because we want to be thorough and make sure we’ve exhausted all possible options for the gardeners in case there is a sudden emergency.”
People on the waitlist for a community garden plot will then be contacted by Urban Bounty with the entire process taking up to a month to “find a good match for the reassigned plot.”
This summer, multiple garden plots have been looking a bit “more unruly than usual” due to summer interns leaving and a lack of volunteers to help gardeners, explained Augustinowicz.
She added gardeners in their respective community gardens have stepped up such as helping each other water their plots.
“We try to be fair and we understand life happens. People get health problems, family problems or issues and they get a little behind but usually gardeners are pretty good.”
One of the biggest challenges for gardeners is weeds growing in the garden and they not only look out of place but also affect nearby plots, explained Augustinowicz.
Horsetails are one of the most difficult weeds to deal with as they need to be dug up from the roots and can’t just be pulled up, she added.
Urban Bounty is encouraging people to reach out when they need help as they “try as much as possible to not let the plots in transition go too crazy with the weeds.”
