Hunt Park

Hunt Park is located on Sunset/Daniel/Spring Streets, is all annual and has 22 half plots. The Hunt Park Garden is located at the south end of the park.  The property is loaned to Project Grow by Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation. The community garden was created by a grass roots group from the local community in 2009 and is intended to give people in proximity to the park a beautiful location to garden and to offer a place for neighbors to garden together.

MAP OF GARDEN:  Hunt Park Map

SITE COORDINATOR:  Eric Meves ericmeves@gmail.com

SOIL: Soil testing done in 2009 showed Hunt Park's soil to be alkaline, with a pH of 7.9. Most vegetable crops prefer neutral to slightly acidic soil. Sawdust, composted leaves, wood chips, cottonseed meal, leaf mold and especially peat moss, will lower the soil pH. The original soil texture was clay, had average nutrient holding capacity and lacked organic matter. Over the years the organic content has increased significantly.

INDIVIDUAL PLOT MAINTENANCE: All gardeners are responsible for keeping weeds down in their plots and along the adjacent pathways. Various mulches may be used in a garden to inhibit weed growth, conserve water, and promote a hospitable micro-climate for plants and worms. Any non-organic mulch (black plastic, etc.) should be covered with an organic mulch.

GARDEN MAINTENANCE: Like many of the Project Grow gardens, the Hunt Park site has its own unique character. This site is located in a mowed area of the park and has a very visible location. To achieve a garden site that fits well into the existing park surroundings, efforts are to be made to achieve an aesthetically pleasing garden site. Please help make the gardens beautiful this summer by maintaining your own plot and keeping the gardens free from debris, etc.

WATER:  Water is delivered by a water line, installed by Project Grow, from the public restrooms on Sunset to the gardens. Please try to conserve it by mulching well and watering only when necessary.

Unattended watering of gardens is prohibited.

COMPOSTING:  Any organic waste generated during the growing season may be tilled into the soil, placed in a designated compost area on-site, or taken home for composting by the city.  However, diseased plants should always be removed from the site, to minimize the presence of pathogens in the gardens. 

Please do not create renegade compost piles anywhere outside of your garden plot and do not discard of any organic or inorganic material in the woods unless specifically instructed otherwise by the site coordinator.

HAY, WOODCHIPS, TOPSOIL or COMPOST:  Any materials brought or delivered to the site should be spread on the garden plots within a reasonable amount of time. Marsh hay is usually available in the spring, delivered to the garden from a local grower for a reasonable fee. If interested in learning more about marsh hay deliveries or for more information about mulching, contact your site coordinator or the Project Grow office.

TOOLS:  A limited number of tools are stored in a tool box onsite. Gardeners might want to bring their own small hand tools.

DISPOSAL of TRASH:  Gardeners are responsible for removing trash from the site.

ROCKS can go in the woods.

ABANDONED PLOTS:  Plots that have not been seriously worked by June 1st or are overgrown with weeds taller than 18” at any point in the season, will be considered abandoned and will be reassigned or solarized. Contact your site coordinator or the Project Grow office if you are having problems getting started or if you need to abandon your plot.

COMMUNICATION:  Watch the bulletin board on the Project Grow sign and feel free to use it to make announcements regarding garden business. Expect a few emails asking you to help out with volunteer tasks.

FENCING: Beginning in 2021, our gardens at Food Gatherers, Hunt, Scio and Wines will charge a $15 / half plot, $30 / full plot surcharge to pay for fencing. Project Grow has historically never paid for fencing. However, increasing deer pressure at Hunt and Wines required a deer fence and permanent deer fences are expensive.

For several years, Hunt Park gardeners used a light plastic fence for deer that they financed themselves. In accordance with Ann Arbor Parks requirements, they also put it up and took it down every year. This worked well for several years but in 2018, some deer learned they could rear up and tear through the plastic with their front hooves. Each time the gardeners repaired the damage, the deer did it again, and the garden was decimated.
 
To save a popular and successful community garden, Project Grow received clearance from Ann Arbor Parks to put up a permanent deer fence at Hunt. As a pilot effort, Project Grow decided to pay the $1600 for the fence and ask gardeners for donations until the fence was paid for. This method sounded good but was not practical. The site coordinator was put in the awkward position of pestering gardeners for money each year, and it was also unfair because only a subset of gardeners donated money.
 
FALL CLEAN UP:  Gardeners will clear their plots no later than day's end the third Saturday in October. Organic material may be chopped up and spread evenly across your plot, to be plowed under in the fall. Take home all non-organic material, such as fences, stakes, plastic, or paper, as well as any diseased plants.  The goal is to have a site that is clear of any evidence of gardening, except for the tilled area and Project Grow's sign.  Failure to clean up your plot according to the guidelines set forth in the Member Handbook may result in expulsion from the garden.