There is no shortage of places in Dixon to get fruit, including various markets or farm stands. However, many Dixonites might not know that there exists a place, snugly located in the middle of North Washington Street, where people can get fresh fruit for free.
For the last five years, the city of Dixon has operated its own community garden with plenty of stone fruits ripe for picking at various stages of the year. It could also be expanding to offer more types of fruit in the near future.
Ashley Alvarez, an administrative clerk with the Public Works Department, said the garden was approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission in 2016 and installed on a parcel that was previously occupied by a house that was removed due to repeat flooding.
“It was taken over by the storm drain division,” she said.
A decision was made to install a community garden in place of the home, with trees donated by Lemuria Nursery. Public Works Director Louren Kotow said the trees bear a variety of stone fruits, including plums and peaches, and even citrus fruits such as lemons. Since its initial installation, Kotow said the garden has been maintained by public works crews.
This year, the city has authored two posts about the garden on its Facebook page. The most recent was in June to alert the community that the fruit was ready for picking. Back in February, the city posted to remind residents where the garden was and also indicated that more types of fruit trees may be planted in the future and raised beds and composting bins may be added.
Kotow said new trees would likely be planted in the fall or spring, depending on what the budget allows and which donations are available. She would like to see more apple or pomegranate trees.
“It would be nice to get a larger variety of fruit,” she said.
Kotow said the social media response has been minimal, but staff likes the fact that the city has such a garden.
“They appreciate the opportunity to give back to the citizens,” she said. “They see this as something where they directly give back while providing food.”
Kotow said there are many benefits to community gardens, including the ability to provide free fruit to the community and allowing people to pick and choose. She also hopes to have a pruning clinic at the garden.
“We’ve been in some discussions with organizations that we hope they can come and use the spot to provide education,” she said.
Madeline Henry, the city’s public information officer, said the garden can also be a gathering space.
“It provides community space for neighbors to come together and meet if they do have a shared interest in gardening or live in the area and want to come and collect food,” she said.
Moreover, Kotow said, “Any tree or green space is preferable to a lot that’s vacant and we need to weed abate.”
“The trees also provide benefits as far as storm drain filtration and green space if they’re psychologically healthy as well,” she said.
The community garden is located at 706 N. Washington St. Visitors are advised to only take what they need, leave fruit on the trees for others to enjoy and inspect and wash the fruit before eating.
"fruit" - Google News
August 11, 2021 at 07:11AM
https://ift.tt/3jDOwRE
Dixon community garden provides free fruit ripe for picking - Vacaville Reporter
"fruit" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2pWUrc9
https://ift.tt/3aVawBg
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Dixon community garden provides free fruit ripe for picking - Vacaville Reporter"
Post a Comment