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With the goal to create water access for community gardeners during shoulder season months (April/May and October/November) and during climate related stresses like prolonged droughts, Burlington Area Community Gardens (BACG) reinvigorated their water catchment systems at all community garden sites in the Burlington area.
Typically, the City of Burlington garden maintenance crew turns public access water at community garden sites on by mid May and off by mid October. Although those dates are in place to protect frost-sensitive irrigation infrastructure (nobody likes to deal with frozen pipes!), the water on/off dates don’t align with many gardeners ambitions for season extension.
For example, at Seedsong Collective Garden (a VGN program site in the Tommy Thompson Community Garden, at the Intervale), we begin planting in early April and continue harvesting through December.
In past years, we have carted in jugs of water from early April to mid-May to keep up with watering seeds and young transplants. In November, we’ve had to cart in water jugs to finish cleaning tools and watering cold-hardy winter greens. And although we have made it possible (many hands make light work, especially in a collective garden!), we are deeply appreciative of the City of Burlington’s initiative to prioritize rainwater catchment and water storage at all community garden sites.
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(Bottom photo from VGN Greenhouse. Water cube for drip irrigation inspired by BACG work)
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