Crieff Community Garden has been given a reprieve by the fire service amid ‘desperation’ at the condition of the drought-hit area.
Volunteers are concerned that vegetables will die and plants will wilt if the dry spell continues.
Without a water source on the site, they have had to import using watering cans from their own homes to keep the plants hydrated.
On Thursday they even resorted to using a hose from two neighbours’ homes to flood the flower beds.
But, thankfully, help was at hand from the local fire station who, later in the evening, filled the community garden’s four tanks with 4,400 litres of water.
“It was desperation,” said volunteer Catriona Smith.
Lockdown project
Catriona, 28, is rightly proud of the community garden’s reinvigoration after falling into decline until March 2020.
Clearing the rubbish for growing plants was a lockdown project that has had a long-term benefit to the people of Crieff.
There is now an area for children, a mud kitchen, picnic benches, raised beds and a polycarbonate greenhouse.
Community events such as litter picks are held, and pupils from the town’s nurseries and schools help with planting and looking after vegetables.
‘You can’t even pierce a spade in it’
But warm and dry conditions this summer have had an impact.
“The ground is so hard that you can’t even pierce a spade in it,” Catriona said.
“It was desperation. We had to contact the neighbours. Unfortunately none of them have garden taps so we had to run the hose through their house, which isn’t ideal.
“But they appreciate the garden and don’t want it to be ruined because everything is rotting.
“We had to prioritise our vegetables and a lot of work goes into planting them as seeds and cultivating them.
“We poured water over them last night but it ran straight off and onto the path.”
‘It is such a struggle in these temperatures’
Further help was at hand when a fire engine arrived.
Catriona said: “We have contacted the fire service to see if they can help us by filling up our tanks but because Crieff is a small fire station and the firemen are part-time it’s difficult for them unless they are out on a call.
“Fortunately they were doing a drill last night so were able to fill up our four water tanks.
“We were so grateful because it is such a struggle in these temperatures.”
‘Some plants have been scorched’
The reprieve may only be temporary. On Thursday night the gardeners used 500 of the 4,400 litres in the replenished water tanks, meaning there may be more shortages if significant rain doesn’t arrive soon.
“Despite our efforts some plants have been scorched,” Catriona added. “The ground has been so hard that the water wouldn’t penetrate the soil.
“The fireman have a key to the water hydrant on Monteath Street so can access water when need be. I don’t know if it’s possible for us to get a key.”
‘Unable to provide access’
Hydrants are owned by Scottish Water, which gives Scottish Fire and Rescue Service access for firefighting purposes.
Area Commander Scott Gibson is the SFRS’s local senior officer for Perth, Kinross, Angus and Dundee.
He said: “We work in partnerships within our communities and safety is always a priority.
“In addition to this we will support any community need where we can, particularly in this instance where the Crieff Community Garden promotes so many healthy living benefits.
“Unfortunately we would be unable to provide access to any of our fire hydrants as they are solely for fire service use.”
If you would like to help Crieff Community Garden you can email Catriona here.
Conversation