Curiosity in gardening grows
May 7, 2009
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| Community effort: There are currently 1,038 plots at the 35 gardens managed by the Recreation and Park Department, but the wait-list stands at 510. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Amid a burgeoning interest in locally grown foods, demand for community gardens in The City is soaring.
Community gardens are run by volunteers, and users pay a small fee to reserve one of 1,038 plots at the 35 gardens managed by the Recreation and Park Department.
The wait-list for plots has grown by at least 100 in the past year to about 510 budding urban gardeners, according to Rec and Park spokeswoman Lisa Seitz Gruwell.
At the Michelangelo Playground Community Garden, tucked away in an existing park on Greenwich Street in Russian Hill, 30 people are waiting for a plot, according to garden coordinator Phyllis Hunt.
Gardeners range in age and background, but often family and friends will help the plot’s owner, she said.
“We had a young guy who got married and now his wife and mother-in-law come and help,” Hunt said, laughing. “It’s a real family affair.”
It can take up to four years to land a space in the garden, she said. The wait-list has more than doubled since Hunt began taking care of the site more than eight years ago, when there were 12 people waiting for one of the garden’s 21 spaces.
About six are waiting for a plot in the Bayview district’s Adam Rogers Community Garden, coordinator Sylvia Simmons said.
“More people are getting involved because they want to go green, and [because of] the need for food,” she said.
Rec and Park budgets $150,000 for the community gardens to help cover maintenance, existing structures and water bills.
Now, with the increasing demand, officials want to transform unused open space into garden plots. Additionally, with the renovation of existing community gardens, another 217 plots could be added citywide, Seitz Gruwell said.
The cost of the program would not change if additional properties are added, she said.
Rec and Park has already earmarked several properties for conversion, Seitz Gruwell said, including sites at Bush and Broderick streets and Golden Gate Avenue and Steiner Street.
“We’re looking at what’s underutilized and what can better serve the community,” she said.
Using your green thumb
The Recreation and Park Department manages 35 community gardens around San Francisco where, for a small fee, residents can tend their own plot and grow vegetables, herbs and other plants.
1,038 Existing plots citywide
510 People on wait-list
6 Potential properties to be converted to add more space
217 Additional plots if current spaces are converted
1986 Year current program started
$150,000 Budget for community gardens
Source: Recreation and Park Department
akoskey@sfexaminer.com
