April Gardening News: Another Community Garden, a Big Plant Sale, and an Easy-to-Read Year Round Planting Guide
Image credit: Lyndsay Dunn NOISE
By Kietryn Zychal
The first day of spring was 18 days ago but it still feels like… the end of winter!
Just wait two days. This Saturday, Apr. 9 is supposed to be sunny and almost 60 degrees. If that makes you think of gardening, head over to O’Leavers Bar at 1332 Saddle Creek Rd. from noon - 4 p.m. to network with folks from the Free Farm Syndicate who will be happy to feed you and send you home with a few starter plants and some tips on gardening.
Free Farm Syndicate is NOISE’s featured community garden this month in addition to the five we wrote about in March.
The coalition, operating for six years, has five open-harvest plots located in South Omaha, Benson, and North Omaha. Unlike traditional neighborhood community gardens, Free Farm Syndicates farms collectively. Their produce, grown using organic and sustainable practices, is distributed from June through October at Free Farm Stands throughout the metro area along with other locally grown and donated produce.
“We believe that fresh food is a right for all.”
“We believe that fresh food is a right for all,” writes co-founder and organizer, Clare Maakestad. “We work together with organizers and volunteers to grow food for each other and in doing so hope to foster and sustain a food system by neighbors for neighbors.”
During the summer, Free Farm Syndicate distributes produce on:
Saturday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon at Bancroft Street Market (2702 S. 10th St.)
Sunday mornings from 10 am to noon at the Myrtle Free Farm plot in North Omaha (1123 N. 29th St.)
During the summer, Free Farm Syndicate distributes produce on:
Saturday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon at Bancroft Street Market (2702 S. 10th St.)
Sunday mornings from 10 am to noon at the Myrtle Free Farm plot in North Omaha (1123 N. 29th St.)
City Sprouts is Free Farm Syndicate’s fiscal sponsor and partners with them on food distribution. Gardening enthusiasts can find more information about volunteering with @freefarmsyndicate on Instagram, Facebook and their fundraising page.
Big Garden Plant Sale and Planting Guide
To those of you who got your tomato seeds in starter pots by March 10, congratulations! If you didn’t, The Big Garden has a plant sale running from Apr. 21 - May 21 at their campus at 5602 Read St. off Mormon Bridge Rd. You have the option to buy online Monday and Tuesday and pick up on Wednesday or shop in-person from Thursday through Saturday.
For those who want to plant their own seeds, The Big Garden also has an easy-to-read planting guide for February through October which you can download from their website. NOISE is republishing it below.
