By Traci Chapman

Mustang’s community garden will be putting down new roots soon, after City Council on Tuesday approved a location in Wild Horse Park.

Council members voted unanimously to approve the request, which means the garden, administered by Mustang Kiwanis Community Garden and Farmers Market, would be relocated from its current site behind the old Mustang Police Department. That plot is owned by a local developer and has never been a truly permanent option, garden representative Bob Wilson said.

“When there’s a sales opportunity (of the property), we’re gone, so we’ve been leery of making capital improvements,” Wilson told council members. “With this we can reinvest some of our money from our vegetable sales.”

The organization grows a variety of vegetables, about a third of which are sold through farmers markets held throughout the summer, Wilson said. The remaining two-thirds are given to Kiwanis food pantry, Strawberry Fields and other entities that need fresh vegetables and about one-third are given to volunteers and others for their own needs, he said.

Assistant City Manager Justin Battles said he has worked with Wilson and other garden volunteers for about a year in the search for a new garden site. After the farmers market was recently moved to Town Center’s gazebo, officials were certain the Wild Horse Park spot would be most advantageous, Battles and Wilson said.

“We’ve had the market here for about a month,” Wilson said. “It’s been fantastic, sales are much better than they were before.”

The organization has about 20 regular volunteers, a number Wilson hopes to increase with the change in garden location. The new locale could also serve as an educational tool, particularly for children, who could learn more about where food comes from and other lessons, Wilson said. Crops could also be expanded, including a fall pumpkin patch, shrubs, trees, grasses and other items, he said.

“There are a lot of things we could do which would benefit the city and the residents,” Wilson said.

There would be minimal expense to the city to accomplish the move, Battles said. Water sources were located nearby; it would cost “$100 to $200” to purchase piping to extend those to the proposed garden site, he said. The need for fencing to protect the garden could be studied at a later time, the assistant city manager said.

“These are citizens who are investing themselves,” Battles said.