by Ling-Mei Wong
A meeting on the Charlestown Sprouts community garden took place Jan. 13 at the CharlesNewtown community room.
The Charlestown Sprouts garden was founded by Charlestown resident Oren McCleary in the 1990s, moving to its current Terminal Street location in 1997. It has 104 plots and is one of the largest community gardens in Boston. About half of the plots are rented by gardeners of Asian descent, said Charlestown Sprouts president Gerald Robbins.
A public meeting on the Charlestown Sprouts community garden took place Jan. 13 at the CharlesNewtown community room. (Image courtesy of Ling-Mei Wong.)
Charlestown resident Sue Tsui said, “I’ve been gardening for more than 10 years. There didn’t used to be as many gardeners and now it’s more crowded. There are rats. I look forward to more improvements, such as making it more accessible.”
Her neighbor Mrs. Wong said she liked to grow vegetables during the peak growing season of June to September. Some gardeners keep planting during the winter months, but cold weather limits crops.
The garden received three grants totaling $100,000 in 2019 from the City of Boston ($92,000), the state of Massachusetts ($5,300) and the Encore Boston Harbor mitigation fund ($2,500) to redesign and rebuild the garden.
The garden is dilapidated, with some plots rotting and illegal dumping in the area. Landscape architects Fuss & O’Neill are seeking community input on the number of plots, which currently are different sizes. Gardeners suggested improvements such as more accessible pathways, benches and compost areas.
Garden plots are available for 2020.
The Mystic River Watershed Association plans to improve the Mystic Channel area surrounding the garden with pathways and walkway repairs.
A third community meeting will take place Feb. 10.
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