Yorktown Park Community Garden Completely Booked

Only six days after opening Edina's first community garden to resident sign-ups, all 55 plots have been spoken for.

City staff announced the Yorktown Community Garden was filled to capacity as of 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, less than one week after registration started for Edina residents.

In a blog post on the City of Edina's website, Recreation Supervisor Kristen Aarsvold said it felt a bit ironic to have the garden completely booked with freshly fallen snow covering the ground.

Aarsvold reports 20 garden plots were rented the first day of registration—last Thursday, April 8—with only 15 remaining as of Tuesday night. Those were all reserved by Wednesday morning, likely coinciding with a Star Tribune story about the garden in Wednesday's paper.

The garden allows Edina residents a chance to rent 10-by-10 or 10-by-15 spaces to garden through the end of October. It will be located in Yorktown Park, to the north of the Southdale YMCA and to the east of the Tri-City Skate Park.

The pilot garden is expected to cost the City of Edina more than $21,000 in its first year, with the bulk of that cost ($8,500) going toward constructing a four-foot-high fence around the garden plots to keep animals at bay. Plot fees are expected to generate $1,515 in profit, and a fundraiser at Whole Foods on April 18 is anticipated to bring in an additional $3,000.

Much of the cost of the garden is up-front, with expenses only estimated at $1,950 for a second year of maintaining the project. The area will also include a compost bin, an 800-gallon water containment tank, bikes racks, benches and wood chip-covered walkways.

Prospective gardeners can still get added to a wait list for the Community Garden—which already contained eight names as of noon Wednesday—by contacting Vera Norine at 952-826-0367 or vnorine@edinamn.gov. The waiting list is designed to help the City of Edina figure out how many plots are needed in coming years.

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