The Hot Springs Community Garden
The Hot Springs Community Garden was initiated in the spring of 2022. In April the Use Agreement 2022-8 between the City of Hot Springs and The Hot Springs Community Garden was passed unanimously by the City Council.
Construction began immediately on 1435 Evans Street, Hot Springs, SD. By the end of June there were 15 raised garden plots, rented, filled, and planted. Garden plots are rented out for $25 each. Each household can rent a maximum of two plots.
A 5-foot fence, water spigots and gates soon followed. The supplies and labor for everything was all donated by the community. The names of the businesses and individuals who donated their time, effort, finances, equipment and supplies are included on the list of sponors on our About page. It is an excellent example of what is possible when people come together in support of a common goal. Below are a couple photos of what the garden looked like that first growing season. The beds are 4 ft by 8 ft and 18 inches high.
In 2023 there were 17 more garden plots added to The Garden, bringing the total number of plots to 32. All of these were rented out and filled with produce and flowers for the 2023 growing season.
In addition we added a large 10 ft by 20 ft garden that was filled with an assortment of vegetables, which were donated to the local food pantry. The Community Garden donated over 250 pounds of produce from this garden.
The garden also acquired a shed for all the tools and equipment that had been donated. The shed was purchased with grant funds from the South Dakota Community Foundation. This was a huge boon for the gardeners so they didn’t need to haul what they needed to and from The Garden.
There were a lot of other additions to The Garden in 2023. Areas for raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, aspargus were cultivated and planted. Compost bins were built and gardeners are encouraged to bring their kitchen scraps for composting.
There were also activities added to The Garden’s itinerary. There is a Spring Meet-n-Greet potluck for all the gardeners to get to know each other. There is another harvest potluck in September. Free gardening classes were offered. A few photos of the garden in 2023 are below.
The 2024 growing season started off with our first plant sale. Vegetable starts, hanging baskets and potted plants were propagated by the gardeners and sold, along with various gardening items. Going forward this will be The Garden’s main annual fund-raiser.
More garden plots were added to The Garden bringing the total number of garden plots to 46, including the large 10′ by 20′ plot. This plot was used for classes and became our corn field this year. The last two plots were finished in September. All the others were filled and planted up by gardeners. It was a difficult year for gardeners due to the weather, but most of the gardeners are returning to grow again in 2025.
We added food preservation classes to the list of classes offered. These were held in the beautiful kitchen at the United Churches. The classes are all taught by Master Gardeners and Master Food Preservers.
The Garden’s Administration Team are working on making The Garden wheelchair assessible. This includes garden beds with legs on a compact surface and automatic gates. The completion of this project depends on funding. Grants are being applied for.
Hot Spring Community Garden benefited from a group of volunteers from Black Hills who installed a gravel walkway into The Garden. A successful coming together for the good of others, initiated by United Way.
Another project started in 2024 is a wildflower garden at the front of the garden. It’s purpose is two-fold, to add a pleasing appearance to the garden and to attract pollinators.
