Garden Time Is Coming

With March coming in like a lamb, it won’t be long before we can plant our tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. The Lee Knowlton Community Garden, under the auspices of the Grafton Garden Club, Inc., is accepting applications now from Grafton residents who would like to reserve their own garden plot (20’ x 20’). The one-time-only membership fee is $20. The yearly rental for one plot is $20. Located off Estabrook Road, each plot is large enough for a substantial garden. The entire garden is fenced to keep garden predators like deer out. Your responsibility is to gently turn over the soil as soon as the soil has sufficiently dried out. On April 20, 2024, the Community Garden will open for a general cleaning and preparation for the planting season.

On May 11, 2024, you can purchase all your gardening needs at the Grafton Plant Sale and Raffle on the Common, from 9 am to 1 pm. You’ll be able to buy veggies, annual flowers for Memorial Day, plus perennials, herbs. This year, they are also selling plants which have been specifically selected to attract butterflies and other pollinators to your yard. There is a free planting activity for children. The raffle table is again full of garden-related items from area businesses and residents, such as a Trader Joe’s Greatest Hits Bag of Snacks, a garden-related group of products from Koopman Lumber Company, WooSox tickets for four to a game at Polar Park, the ever-popular hand-made bench, and gift certificates from Bemis Farms Nursery for a workshop for 2, Goretti Supermarkets, Logee’s Plants for Home & Garden, Nothing Bundt Cakes, WalMart, YMCA – Boroughts Branch, and Yummy Mummy Bakery. Monies raised at the Plant Sale and Raffle provide scholarships to Grafton students and grants to Grafton Public School teachers.

In May, after the threat of frost has past, you can plant vegetables, herbs, flowers, and/or berries at the Grafton Community Garden. Your tender plants will need to be watered and weeded, once or twice each week depending upon the weather. You will need to supply your own tools and water.

To sign up and get a plot, go to the Grafton Garden Club website at www.graftongardenclub.org. Click the link for Grafton Community Garden and go to Applications are now available. Read the Membership Rules and print out and fill out the Liability Waiver Agreement and Membership Application Forms and mail them and your check to the Grafton Garden Club, PO Box 453, Grafton, MA 01519. If you have any questions, you can call Dick Kirejczyk, Manager of the Community Garden, at 508-839-4867, or send an email to rjk185@yahoo.com.

The Community Garden was established to promote and support horticulture for the residents of Grafton. The Grafton Garden Club encourages the local production of food and promotes the educational benefits of agriculture.

The Grafton Garden Club, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization which welcomes new members to any of their meetings and events. Consult their website for more information or to join: www.graftongardenclub.org.

The Grafton Garden Club: Where Gardeners Grow.