Planting Begins At Mentor's Community Garden

The three organizations behind Mentor's community garden -- the city of Mentor, Lake County General Health District and -- gathered Wednesday morning at to open their joint project.

They planted a trio of tomato plants to officially open the city's first community garden.

The garden was the idea of Mentor City Manager Kenneth Filipiak. However, , for which LCGHD Health Educator Tori Sinclair wrote the application, to make it happen.

Kaiser Permanente pediatrician Dr. Andrea Zets said the garden symbolized what Kaiser stood for -- staying health through prevention and proactiveness.

"The family can come out here together, garden, get some exercise and breathe some fresh air," she said.

A community garden is a single piece of land that's gardened collectively by a group -- in this case, the residents of Mentor.

Additionally, some of the food grown in the garden will be donated to the .

The Mentor garden has 32 plots, each of which are 20 by 20. All of those lots are already reserved by specific residents. Furthermore, the garden has a waiting list if any more lots are added or if somebody drops out, said Paul Hegreness of the city's Parks and Recreation Department

Hegreness added that he hopes the city can expand the community garden if more funding can be found.

The annual fee for a plot is $35. Also, a $20 cleanup deposit is also required, but the city refunds it if the gardener properly puts their plot to bed by Nov. 5.

Anyone interested in being added to the garden's waiting list can call 440-974-5720.