New Community Garden Opens

Latham Community Garden opened last week. The new community garden has 84 raised plots. They’re 6’ x18’. And 6 of them are ADA compliant. 

The garden is gated, so only those that have a plot will be able to get in. I stopped by as I was walking my dog, and spoke with Veronica, the first person to start planting her raised bed. She told me that she added her name to the wait list when it first opened in 2015. She started some of her plants at home, a few weeks before the garden opened, so her spot looks like it’s been growing for quite a while. 

Many of the gardeners that I spoke to on opening day were concerned about the heat wave Mountain View had the week before. Their new plants were struggling. In a few weeks, the entire garden will be green and bursting with veggies and flowers. The city provides water, wheel barrows, gardening tools, and each bed is filled with potting soil. The garden is mostly in full sun, so tomatoes will grow quite well. 

This is our third community garden. The entire project cost just under a million dollars. The other two gardens are Willowgate, and the one at the Senior Center. Here’s a link to get your name on the waiting list. The waiting list is 3-4 years long. There is a small annual fee of $50-$100.

The land used was already owned by the city. It was just an empty lot, considered open space. It was nice, but now it’s gorgeous and a hub of gardening activity. 

Each plot looks completely different from the next and it’s easy to see everything as you walk by, on Shoreline Blvd. While I was meeting some of the gardeners, one lady told me that where she lives, it’s too shady to grow very much, so she wanted a plot. Another told me that she lives in an apartment and really wanted a little piece of land to grow dahlias. And no, you aren’t allowed to grow cannabis in the new garden.

The garden is directly across the Shoreline street from Eagle Park.

I’m going to enjoy having this new community garden in my neighborhood. I love Mountain View.