Want to start a vegetable garden this year? Do you feel like Summer has already arrived? Do you have the urge to grow vegetables? You are not alone. The Canadian Garden Council reports that nearly 83% of Canadian households tended some form of a garden in 2021. Maybe this is your first time trying to grow food? The Food Action Group of Transition Cornwall+ can help.
This year marks the 10th Anniversary of our Incredible Edibles Plant Giveaway – an event where we offer free vegetable plants to people in our local communities. The reason? We want people to experience the joy and understand the value of growing their own food and to know what local fresh food tastes like. Everyone is welcome!Not everyone has a garden or space for a garden. That’s why so many of our plants are in permanent pots that can be put on doorsteps, patios and balconies. If you make sure the location is sunny and keep the pots watered, you can enjoy picking your own tomatoes, beans, peppers or chard. For those with garden space we are also offering a variety of plants for replanting such as cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, chard, peppers, popcorn and herbs.
How can you get these plants? Individuals can pick up two free plants on Saturday, May 28, from 11 am to 1 pm at several locations in Cornwall: Mattice Park, St. Theresa Park, Cornwall Square Pop-ups and Agape Centre. Plants will be given away on a first come first served basis but they will be constantly replenished throughout the two hours. At each location there will be volunteers experienced in vegetable growing who can help answer questions new growers might have.
The Food Action Group is also reaching out to local organizations throughout the SDG, such a seniors’ residences, social housing, social clubs etc . They can put in a request for plants and once confirmed can pick them up on Friday, May 27, from 12-7 pm in Cornwall at our distribution location. To organize this, contact Penny at transitioncornwallarea@gmail.com
How does this all happen? At the core is the Food Action Group members’ passion for growing local sustainable food and the willingness to put that into action. But increasingly vegetable growers in the community are stepping up to grow plants for Incredible Edibles, and this has meant over 2,000 will be given away again this year. And then, on the days of the event, 30+ volunteers, including several families, will pitch in to help put a few hundred plants into permanent pots, help sort and transport all the plants to different locations and cheerfully give them away..
We are also grateful to our stalwart partners that help make this possible: Marlin Orchards, Cornerstone Organics, the City of Cornwall, Agape, the Cornwall and District Horticultural Society, Local Fill, Kinsmen Club of Cornwall, Zip Grow, Early ON, and the Social Development Council of Cornwall and Area (with which Transition Cornwall+ is a working group).
The Food Action Group of Transition Cornwall+ hopes to see you at one of our give-away locations for our Incredible Edibles. Please spread the word to your friends and neighbours
