By Gail Curtis
Ah, the smell of fresh parsley and tomatoes! Spring is around the corner and so are community garden plots.
Kinglsey Park Community Garden, located at 11498 NW St Helens Road (north of the Shell Station) in Kingsley Park, is one of 60 City of Portland Parks and Recreation community gardens. The garden opened in 2017 and is run by volunteers with City support and resources provided. The current volunteer garden manager is Rob Lee.
Rob also leads the garden’s “Produce for People” by growing and delivering vegetables to the Linnton Food Bank and Odd Fellows Home. In 2023, over three hundred pounds of vegetables were produced and donated from Kingsley Park Community Garden. You may be thinking mostly zucchini, but it was tomatoes that were the top donation. Yum!
Gardening at Kingsley Park Community Garden is made easy with mulch, water and tools provided with registration. You may register for a garden plot by calling 503-823-1612 or at: https://www.portland.gov/parks/community-gardens/registration. Garden plots vary in size and cost. Potentially, up to 90% assistance is available.
A Kingsley Park Community Garden work party will be held April 6th, from 10:00 to noon. The purpose of the work party is to spruce up the garden, meet new and old gardeners and celebrate spring. If the weather forecast is unfavorable and you wish to confirm the April 6th work party, please email Rob Lee at roblee43@gmail.com. All are welcome on April 6th and any other time. To get your “tomato” juices going, check out these gardening links for gardening tips:
Planting and Harvest Calendars:
Portland Nursery Veggie Calendar:
https://portlandnursery.com/docs/veggies/VeggieCalendar.pdf
Oregon State University Planting Calendar:
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/collection/monthly-garden-calendars
Join us for a Community Garden Work Party
Saturday, April 6
10:00 am to 12 noon
Kingsley Park
11498 NW St.
For info: Contact Rob Lee at roblee43@gmail.com