On Friday, April 26, the competition begins for another City of Maple Ridge Food Garden Contest.
The contest is put on by the city’s Agricultural Advisory Committee, to promote food security, and is judged through photo submissions.
Contestants are invited to plan a garden, grow food, take photographs, and put themselves in line to win prizes.
Everyone, of all ages, is welcome to enter – families, individuals and groups. No gardening experience is necessary.
The committee is happy to judge a variety of garden types - large and small, in containers, raised beds, in-ground, vertical, patio, front yard, back yard, rooftop and more. Gardeners are encouraged to get creative with the space available to them.
The deadline to enter will be June 3. Entrants take a “before” photo of their garden, and email the photos, with their name, address, phone number and email with the subject line “Food Garden Contest 2024” to arieu@mapleridge.ca.
Then, throughout the growing season, they should take more photos of the garden as it progresses. They can submit up to five photos, along with an optional 200-word description of their experience, by Sept. 3. The photos should highlight the judging criteria, which includes:
• Quality and range of food grown
• Health of the plants
• Gardening practices
• Garden design and artistic expression
Prizes will include items or gift certificates from local businesses.
For more information, contact Adam Rieu, Agricultural Advisory Committee staff liaison, at arieu@MapleRidge.ca
For more information, and links to online gardening resources, see mapleridge.ca
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