Keeping the Farm in Farmington

You too can be a Farmington farmer.

Applications for 2011 Kolp Community Garden plots are now open to Farmington residents who are returning gardeners. Non-residents who are returning gardeners can submit their applications starting February 14; all Farmington residents can submit an application beginning February 21 and the process opens to the general public February 28.

The application, instructions and rules and regulations can be downloaded from the town website. Registration is by mail only and is on a first come, first served basis.

The fee for a 25’ x 25’ plot is $20 and a 50’ x 50’ plot is $35.00 for the season, which begins April 15 and goes to October 15. There are 224 plots.

The Community Garden has been at its current location along the Farmington River on Meadow Road since the late 1980s and always sells out.

“This is one of our most popular programs,” explained Assistant Town Manager Erica Robertson. "Dozens of applications have already been received.”

“There is definitely a social aspect to the garden,” Robertson added. "Some people really set up their plot. A great tradition has been to place excess produce in a box by the sign which gets donated to the ”

Farmington resident Mim Reynolds submitted one of the first applications for 2011.

“Last year was our first year at Kolp Community Gardens. We rented a 25x25 plot,” she said. “It was an interesting project and a ton of work! There is no water so you must either get it from the river, which is no easy task, or carry in your own. Most people also use rain catchers but that only goes so far. The wind can easily blow your crops away. We lost our entire first planting because we started too soon. There were times when the valley looked like a giant sand storm - and then there are the insects, the blazing sun with no shade and sore muscles. The benefits, however, certainly outweigh any negatives. The instant you see the first vegetables sprout from the soil all the hard work is totally forgotten and then when you start harvesting it is so exciting you begin to plan what you could do differently next year!”

Reynolds said the social aspect is another plus.

“Chatting with neighbors about what they have planted, what they tried in the past, how they fertilize...” Chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides are prohibited at the community garden.

While Reynolds filled her plot with many different vegetables, from lettuce to beans, Swiss chard, radish, carrots, beets, yellow squash, eggplant, cucumbers, spinach and tomatoes, some gardeners plant their entire plot with just one crop- chili peppers, artichokes, and popcorn have been solo crops in past years.