Local Man Plans New Community Garden in Inver Grove Heights

Gardening has always been a "natural part" of Jim Spaid's life.

When he was young, his family in small-town Minnesota relied on their private vegetable garden to put food on the table. As he got older, Spaid continued to maintain a garden—even when he moved to St. Paul, where backyard space for a garden is at a premium.

Now, the St. Paul resident and member of wants to bring that tradition to Inver Grove Heights. Next summer, Spaid plans to open a two-acre community garden on the church grounds, near the intersection of 80th Street and Blaine Avenue.

The lifelong gardener hopes the garden will raise the profile of the church in the community and provide a space for local families to grow healthy, organic food.

Spaid has already laid a set of ambitious plans in order to prepare for the inaugural growing season of the community garden next year. The two-acre space will be divided up into 20-40 plots for local gardeners, depending on the amount of interest for the garden Spaid generates. Each participant will be asked to pay a $30 fee to reserve their plot, the dimensions of which will likely be 15 by 20 feet.

Spaid plans to start his spring preparations for the garden early next May, and wants to hold barbecue events, sell sweet corn and pumpkins in the community and post signs to market the garden—which is officially called the "Garden of Grace." He also plans to host food preservation classes at the church next summer.

Before Spaid's garden gets underway, however, the city must approve a zoning ordinance amendment to permit and regulate the garden, City Planner Allan Hunting said. On Monday night, Hunting brought Spaid's plans before the Inver Grove Heights City Council at the council's work session.

At the meeting, Inver Grove Heights City Councilor Rosemary Piekarski Krech noted that similar community gardens in St. Paul have been the targets of vandalism in the past. Without proper maintenance, the gardens can become unsightly or have problems with erosion control, she added.

Proper zoning ordinance regulations would help prevent some of those problems, Hunting said, but the city doesn't currently have any ordinances in place related to community gardens.

Hunting plans to bring a draft of the proposed zoning ordinance changes back to the council later this winter. If the council approves the amendments, Spaid will be able to move forward with his garden.

"I want it to really be a benefit to people in the community," said Spaid, who also plans to donate some of the produce grown in the garden to the food shelf at Neighbors, Inc. “You can produce a lot of good food for yourself, but the other thing is that you can produce organic food…you know exactly what went into these things."

Looking For More Information?

Jim Spaid will hold an introductory, informational meeting about the community garden at 2 p.m. on Jan. 8 at Grace Church of the Nazarene, at 7950 Blaine Ave. in Inver Grove Heights. The public is welcome to attend. Spaid is currently taking donations for the garden, including common gardening tools, wire fencing and money to help pay for the field plowing and other tasks. For more information, email Spaid at jdspaid@hotmail.com.