Andrea Johnson/MDN Garden plots at Rainbow Gardens are barren now but will soon be bursting with life.

There’s still time to reserve your garden plot at Minot’s Rainbow Gardens, but the time for a break on the price has already come and gone. Deb Sisco, a board member for the Rainbow Garden Association, said some early bird gardeners had already reserved their garden plots by the end of last December and got a $5 break on the price.

The garden plots are located along 16th Avenue SE across the street from Edgewood Vista and provided hours of fresh air and fresh produce for avid gardeners during the pandemic last summer. Masks weren’t needed as long as people kept their distance except for a friendly wave.

“That was one thing that was nice last year,” said Sisco. “You could be outside. You could be in your own garden.”

Garden plots of different sizes are available for rent each year and some people rent the same plot year after year.

A 30-foot by 50-foot plot is available for rent at $45. A half size plot of 30 feet by 25 feet is available for rent at $30. Boxes, which can be easier to garden for people who have mobility issues, can be rented for $25 to $35 depending on the size. People can call Sisco at 701-240-3624 to check for availability or to reserve a plot or a box.

More information is also available on the group’s Facebook page or on its website at https://sites.google.com/site/minotrainbowgardens/

“We still have spots available,” said Sisco. “We have constant turnover” because some families have moved or decided they don’t have time to garden this year.

One thing to keep in mind is the amount of work that goes into gardening a plot at Rainbow Gardens.

Renters have to till the soil themselves, fertilize it, plant it, and provide all of their own garden hoses and tools, though water is provided on the site. Deer live in the area and have been known to get into the garden, so some gardeners have fenced off their gardens to keep the deer from snacking on their veggies.

“It’s not something you spend an hour a month on,” said Sisco, who has always gardened and whose children grew up tending to the family’s garden. “You spend hours a week.”

Sisco and her husband have two garden plots and she said they probably spent up to 15 hours a week in the summer working on their garden plot.

“You have to put the time into it to get the crop back and keep it up the way it needs to be kept,” she said.

Sisco said she grows vegetables like potatoes, carrots, corn, tomatoes and peppers and asparagus and also blueberries and raspberries.

“I make my own salsa and jalapeno jelly,” she said.

Gardeners at the site do a lot of sharing. Some gardeners grow unusual crops.

The boxes can also produce a lot of good vegetables.

“Those boxes can produce some pretty good carrots and cucumbers and onions,” said Sisco.

A kick-off meeting for the Rainbow Gardens Association will be held sometime toward the end of April, said Sisco.

Gardening begins in earnest sometime in mid-May.