Garden plots a growing interest at Fort Sill

FORT SILL, Okla., March 18, 2021 -- As warm weather moves in, it makes me think about spring and gardening, so let’s talk about garden plots.

Although it will be a little while before planting time for some plants, you need to get your plot ready to go. This is a great opportunity to spend time watching things grow and a really great time to help kids learn about where their food comes from. It also helps many folks relax.

If you need a place to plant your garden, Fort Sill has just the place. Post garden plots are issued at Sportsmen Services in Building 1458 during work hours Mondays through Fridays. The plots are situated in the 5400 area, just south and east of Freedom Elementary School. They’ve already been tilled and marked off if you want to take a look before signing up.

Gardeners are responsible for weed control halfway to the adjacent plot and maintenance of their assigned plot until the end of the growing season. Gardeners will do their own cultivation, planting, fertilizing, watering, weed control, and security. They will be present at all times when watering to prevent waste and problems with neighboring plots. They will also keep children under strict control to avoid damage to neighboring plots, and, for the same reason, pets are not permitted in the garden area.

Policing of plots is the responsibility of the gardener. All items such as hoses, sprinklers, tomato cages, etc. will be removed. If you leave anything on the plot past Nov. 1, it will be given away or taken to the dump.

The Fort Sill Garden Plot Program is provided to enhance the quality of life here. It belongs to those using it, so take pride in your program — DON’T LITTER or otherwise deface the area entrusted to you.

Another chance to learn about changes in the Natural Resources program is March 19 at noon.

There will be a special meeting to discuss the implementation of I-Sportsmen in the Natural Resource classroom.

It’s also a great chance to ask questions and put in your two cents concerning how those changes will affect sportsmen.

With the loss of help from special duty Soldiers at Sportsmen Services, there just isn’t enough manpower to run the check-in/check-out procedures as in the past.

It also limits the hours that license sales and permits are available which is a problem for some folks.

So, during the past couple years there have been several changes made to allow check-in/check-out by a self-check procedure and returning part of the daily pass at the end of your excursion.

This process works but requires a trip to the office before going afield and another when leaving the field to report clearing. It’s a safety check to make sure people are clear of training areas.

I-Sportsmen is a way to do much of the check-in/check-out for regular seasons using a smart phone without going to Sportsmen Services on a daily basis.

People can also purchase post permits through their phones with some checking of documents to verify being qualified for hunting and fishing on Fort Sill.

It will require the changing of some hunting areas due to a need to match training areas and their restrictions.

Yes, it means some changes, but it’s a chance to make things work a little smoother. Come to the meeting and learn more. I plan to be there.