Warm weather got you thinking of growing things? New at gardening? Several residents associations have already started addressing the interest of North Enders in developing their green thumbs.

Joy Eidse, a community development worker in St. John’s, taught a seed-starting workshop on March 31, at Win Gardner Place. Twelve lucky participants walked away with newly planted tomato, pepper, basil, and marigold seeds, a gardening manual, and pots to transplant their offerings into.

The William Whyte Resident’s Association held its first community gardening meeting March 12. The next one is scheduled for Wed., April 18 at the Pritchard Park recreation building (295 Pritchard Ave.). Attendees are asked to bring seeds while everything else that is needed will be provided. Call Annette at 582-0988 for more information.

Growing plants from seed is one of the cheapest ways to garden. Be sure to follow suggested planting times on the package. The last frost in Manitoba falls around the May long weekend.

Peat moss pellets like Jiffy can be placed in a plastic cup with punctured plastic wrap and a rubber band or special trays with domes can be purchased. Alternately, if you buy soil mix for seed-starting, you can use cardboard egg cartons. Seed packages can be saved in the fridge in a glass jar if kept dry and sometimes you can harvest seed from your own plants.

St. John’s Library (500 Salter St.) currently has a great selection of gardening books on display.

Learn the best plants for Manitoba gardens, container garden tips, and frugal gardening ideas.

If you would like a copy of the gardening manual put out by the North End Food Security Network, the cost is $12. Order from Jasmine Tara at the North End Community Renewal Corp. office by phoning 927-2342.

Not sure gardening is for you? You can still enjoy produce biweekly at a reduced cost through the Good Food Box program. For $20 or $12 paid the day before pick-up, you will receive 10 to 15 different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Deliveries are made to various agencies every other Wednesday. To order, call the Indian Family Centre at 586-8393.

Backyard space but no time to garden? The WWRA has just spearheaded a new program which will pair newcomers to Canada who are avid gardeners with owners of unused gardening space. Lumber and earth are supplied. Please call 582-0988 if interested.
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A number of spring clean-up events will take place in the weeks ahead including:

• St. John’s, May 5 — meets and ends at Ralph Brown Community Centre - 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

• William Whyte — May 11 from 9:30 a.m. to noon and May 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with lunch included at Pritchard Park. Visit www.wwra.ca to see how you can adopt your block

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And the fun doesn’t stop there. Check out the following community events:

• June 2 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. is planting day for the community garden at 417 Salter. There will also be a composting workshop from 1 to 3 p.m.

• The Main Street Farmer’s Market opens June 29 at Neechi Commons parking lot. Buskers, face-painters, balloon animal makers and vendors can contact Jasmine at 927-2342.

Sonya Braun is a community correspondent for the North End. You can contact her at sonyajoy@gmail.com.