Community Garden - 2025 Report
The T/E GRG Community Garden has officially wrapped up its first growing season, marking an exciting milestone in a project that began as an idea only two years ago.
In late 2023, GrassRoots Growers and community members began imagining a space that could nourish people in multiple ways: by growing healthy food for those who need it, offering a welcoming place for neighbours to gather, and creating opportunities for hands-on learning about growing and preparing food. Thanks to the support of Stone Mills Council, an empty parcel of land behind the works buildings on Ballpark Drive became the future home of this ambitious volunteer-driven initiative.
In 2024, the garden took shape with remarkable speed. A grant from Naturally L&A community development fund and matched by the GrassRoots Growers, helped to initially fund the cedar boards that were locally cut and assembled into raised beds. By September, volunteers had moved and installed the planters (twelve 8'×4' raised beds and five low beds) creating a foundation ready for spring planting. A small shed, arched trellises, and donated benches soon followed, turning the empty lot into an inviting and functional community space. That fall, our very first experimental plantings went in the ground, such as garlic, parsnips, beets, carrots, and perennial Raspberry bushes and asparagus crowns for future harvests.
Throughout this year and last, Stone Mills Township has also contributed essential support, providing heavy equipment to help install gravel and soil, adding a water faucet to a nearby building, and supplying a portable toilet.
In 2025, the garden’s first growing season was both productive and educational. Early plantings of lettuce, bok choy, arugula, kohirabi, radishes, and Swiss chard flourished, with over 18 lbs of lettuce harvested before local deer discovered the buffet. Other crops, including tomatoes, beets, beans, kale, loofah, spinach, peppers, squash, celery, onions, and cucumbers, followed in late spring. Two low beds at the entrance area were planted with assorted flowers such as Lupin, marigold, nasturtium, pansies, lavender, Shasta daisies, and herbs like dill, thyme, oregano and rosemary for ambience and aroma.
A long, hot stretch with little rainfall posed one of the year’s biggest challenges; watering every second day often required up to three hours of volunteer time. However, despite these challenges, in total, more than 210 lbs of produce was harvested and shared with the community - much of which was donated to The New Legacy Centre food bank.
The garden also became a place for community connection. Our first in-garden workshop making natural sponges from loofahs brought out local participants, including first-time visitors curious about the project. Volunteers also noticed a few nighttime visitors taking small amounts of produce. This was something the team interpreted as a sign of food need, and responded to with compassion rather than concern. The garden is for everyone in our community after all.
The end of the season brought mulching, wood-chipping, and reflection. The team identified several lessons for the coming year: developing protective covers for vulnerable leafy crops, adjusting watering shifts to early mornings and late evenings, rethinking which crops are most in demand at the food bank, and inviting more volunteers—including one more member for the garden’s committee and volunteer shift leaders for 2026. Outreach efforts are already underway as planning continues through winter.
As the garden heads into its next full year, the foundation has been firmly planted: the beginnings of a resilient volunteer team, strong community partnerships, and a hopeful vision for growth, both of food and of connection. The T/E GRG Community Garden is already proving what can happen when neighbours come together with shared purpose, a bit of soil, and a lot of dedication.
If you’d like to get involved ahead of our 2026 growing season, see Volunteer roles to be filled, or to simply learn more, visit our Community Garden page.