MARION – After a six month search, there may be a location for a community garden. 

On Tuesday, November 1 at 6:15 p.m., the Select Board will hear a request to allow the northernmost tip of the Benjamin Cushing Community Center to be used as a new community garden. This triangular area is about 25,000 square feet and is presently used as an outdoor temporary storage area.

Permission for a garden is requested for a period of one year, and would be renewed annually thereafter. If at any time the space is needed for another purpose, permission can be withdrawn without notice.

“In other words, the garden will have to prove its value,” organizers stated in a press release.

“The Select Board will only vote to approve the proposal for the garden if they believe there is a benefit to the town,” organizers wrote. Organizers of the community garden request that interested members of the community mark their calendars and plan to come out and support the proposal at the meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 1.

If you email communityveg@marionma.gov a note of support with your name and address, the group can print it and include it with the submission to the Select Board.

If permission is secured, they will get to work immediately.

Community gardeners will set up a cold frame and try and get a winter crop of kale, arugula, etc; gear up to plant seedlings for spring planting; and draft up locations for allotments.

There is no formal plan for the configuration of allotments at this time.

For this first season, allotments will be assigned first come fist served. For people who have not done this before, the group says that they have lots of guidance and can provide materials.

The organizers of the garden say that they “[presume] the soil is no good, because Marion is notorious for its poor soil.”

Growers will need to construct their own beds and fill with their own soil. Materials and guidance can be provided. Eventually, soil reclamation will play a big role in the Town Garden. Gardeners tend to want to share what they have and what they know. Once the group acquires a shed, they can accept donated tools.

To get on the mailing list, or ask questions about the Town Garden, email communityveg@marionma.gov.