After some ups and downs, the Jasper Local Food Group has finally found a home for its community garden and the results appear to be bearing fruit (and vegetables).

“I’m happy that it’s growing,” said Ursula Winkler, one of the primary organizers for the community garden standing by the front gate of the garden behind the Jasper Library. Behind her on a sunny Friday evening around 6 p.m., there are children playing with garden hoses and watering cans. Adults are down on their hands and knees planting marigolds and everything from radishes to tomatoes to spring mix lettuces are planted in the dirt and compost. Some of the plants are even beginning to sprout little green shoots. 

“People are happy. It seems to be going very well,” said Winkler, summing up the gardens most recent developments. “It’s all been really positive.”

The basic structure of the garden behind the library, which was lent out to local food group by Jasper Town Council in a unanimous vote, is now basically complete. Twenty-three wooden boxes filled with dirt and compost have been allotted to residents of Jasper to grow plants. No lottery was needed to divvy up the beds, as Winkler said the people who applied for the beds matched up perfectly. A fence was built to surround the garden and keep elk out and hoses have been attached to the library. Winkler said she’d like to see some furniture in the garden, maybe, but aside from that, the only work left to do is the actual growing of plants.

Planted in the beds are a variety of fruits and vegetables: lettuces, onions, radishes, tomatoes, cabbage and some flowers too. Winkler said the radishes, lettuces and cress would probably be the first plants ready to be picked and eaten this year.

The elderly, children and adults from around Jasper have been coming out to help set up the garden over recent weeks, said Winkler. She said that one of her hopes with the garden was that it would create a greater sense of community in town. People working on similar projects, side by side, on something that requires attention and devotion, is a good way to develop bonds and relationships, believes Winkler. A tighter community full of people who care for each other, even if it just means watering someone else’s tomatoes, is what Winkler would like to develop.

“This is what I love, you get all of these little chats happening,” said Winkler, as she watches several garden goers chatting about this and that by their plots. “This is community.”

Winkler said that she even hoped to put up some french signs around the garden so that Francophones around town feel welcome in the garden. In short, she said that she wants everyone helping with the gardening in some way.

Gardening appears to be gaining popularity around town. There is a garden at the Yellowhead Apartments open to tenants there in the initial stages of growth and there is also a garden being launched between the Jasper Jr./Sr. High School and Elementary School, in partnership with École Desrochers. 

“Who knows where all this goes,” said Winkler. “People are just happy. That’s a  good thing.

“It’s about empowering people to just get out there. I don’t own this project. It’s not me,” said Winkler.

Much of the materials for the garden behind the library were donated by Paul Cambridge, the owner of the Home Hardware lumber yard and store in Jasper. Seedlings, tools, the wood for the garden plot boxes, geraniums and a host of other items were donated.

Cambridge said he had planned on just throwing out the wood that was used to make the gardening boxes. However, once he heard about the community garden and their efforts to get set up and started, he said making the donation was an easy decision.

The Jasper Local Food Group was also given permission to garden behind the town’s environmental services building. Winkler said that the group was very thankful to be given permission for that space, but will be focusing on area behind the library immediately. The garden behind the environmental services building will likely turn into another garden in the future, but longer term plants, such as potatoes, squashes and gourds, will probably be the main focus there.

“Things that need a slightly bigger commitment,” said Winkler.