City of Winnipeg-owned community gardens mostly booked, but farm helps match growers with plots

With spring in full swing, many Manitobans are are thinking about getting their hands dirty in the garden.

This week, the City of Winnipeg opened up its community gardens for people to rent, and there are just a few plots left.

Just two days after the city began taking bookings, there were only 17 plots left, said Rodney Penner, naturalist for the City of Winnipeg.

"It's been a busy season," he said on CBC Manitoba's Up to Speed on Wednesday.

"Each year we pretty much fill up to capacity, and that usually takes place pretty early on."

That might be disappointing for would-be growers, but Aurora Farm has you covered.

Owner Louise May started a garden matchmaking program to connect people who want to garden with people in their neighbourhoods that have extra yard space to share.

"The idea came up through a couple of different sources that we needed to help people find places in their own communities because we were having people apply to our community gardens that were from way the other end of the city. So it would be much better if there more plots available," she said.

So far the program is going well, she says.

"We've heard of many positive connections in the community where someone has a backyard that they'd like to have a garden in, but they don't know how to or don't want to garden. And yet another person in the nearby apartment doesn't have any place to garden," she said.

For those who are more ambitious, May says she has larger plots to garden at her farm — on Waverley Street just before La Barriere Park — for people who are more experienced.

And for those with a lot of interest but no practical knowledge, she offers virtual workshops on everything from backyard chickens to gardening.