Garden Plots Available in Waverly and Owego

 You can start a garden this year without buying tools, supplies or land.
 Tioga County has two community garden sites available, in Waverly and Owego, where you can grow your own vegetables, herbs or flowers at no or very little cost.

 The fee for the entire growing season ranges from nothing at all to $20, based on what you feel you can afford. The fee goes toward buying mulch, compost and supplies for the garden.

 Even the maximum of $20 is very little when you consider what you get at no extra cost. Any tool that you may need is supplied, fertilizer and compost are supplied, and the land is supplied.

 On top of that, seeds are supplied. Each year Susannah Reese, the Tioga County Master Gardener program manager, receives a grant of seeds from the America the Beautiful Fund. The seeds (which usually include varieties of lettuce, corn, carrots, radishes and squash) are free to use by anyone with a plot in the community gardens.

 You don't even have to know how to garden to get started. Just get your plot and the Tioga County Master Gardeners will show you how to plan, plant, and maintain your garden. They also provide free gardening classes every other Wednesday, covering everything from the basics to advanced techniques, at the two community gardens throughout the season.

 The Waverly Community Garden is behind the Tioga Nursing Facility and is accessible by Ball Street, and the Owego Community Garden is behind the Open Door Mission on North Avenue.

 Susannah says, "Gardening is a fun and relaxing hobby that feeds the soul as well as the body." To sign up for a plot or get more information, call her at 687-4020.