Can you farm in Stratford? Why, yes, you can.

Spotlight on: The Farm at Stratford

The Farm at Stratford is a local sustainability project of Soundkeeper, Inc. with the Town of Stratford. It's a community garden located at Pirhala Fields Park on Connors Lane in Stratford.

Low-cost garden plots are available now for Stratford residents to rent for the spring garden season. Experienced gardeners and newcomers are both welcome to get their hands in the soil and raise some fruits, vegetables and flowers on their own plot of land. See the Farm's website for details and an application.

You may ask, "Why a community garden?" Organizer Terry Backer says, "Our hope to help you reduce your food bills, your pollution footprint, learn sustainable practices and get healthier all at the same time... We hope to make The Farm at Stratford a place where we learn from each other."

The Stratford Library has how-to information to help you on every step of your journey down the garden path, from planning, to planting, to pruning, to preventing pests. And just in case you were wondering about keeping your own chickens.... yeah, we have books on that, too.

	Just starting out as a gardener? The Complete Idiots' Guide will start at the very beginning and lead you all the way to harvesting your own vegetables.
	Does your heart skip a beat at the thought of planting new flower beds? Does the smell of freshly tilled ground make you weak in the knees? This is the book for the green-thumb wizard who knows his or her way around a rototiller and is ready to move up to the next expert level.
	The Library has DVDs on gardening, too, from popular experts like Martha Stewart and Jerry Baker. See for yourself as they demonstrate on-screen just how much mulch is too much mulch.
	And finally... chickens. Judging from how popular our books on chickens are, there are a lot of fresh eggs in Stratford's back yards. How about making an omelet from your own eggs, with fresh herbs from the community garden? That would be a fantastic Stratford speciality.