About 29,000 square feet of grass is dying near the Bismarck Municipal Ballpark.

And that means everything is going as planned.

Bismarck Parks and Recreation District sprayed the area last week south of Memorial Highway and east of Hannifin Street to create bare ground for the new Bismarck community garden plots.

The area sprayed - which will provide enough space for several hundred plots, each 10 feet by 10 feet - will be tilled later this week, weather permitting, said Randy Bina, assistant director for the parks district.

Gardeners can then start planting. There's room for several hundred plots, and many are still available. So far, about 40 people have signed up.

But Greg Smith, operations manager for the park district, said gardeners should check with garden organizers to see what can be planted at this point.

Bina said the product used to kill the grass was Cornerstone, a non-selective herbicide - non-selective meaning "it pretty much kills everything that it touches" - a product similar to Roundup.

Smith said times vary on when planting should be done. It depends on what type of crop.

The community garden idea cropped up this spring, when the Missouri Valley Resource Council, a citizens group whose mission is to "create a sustainable and healthy community," decided as this year's project to explore the possibility of a community garden, said Ramona Redding Lopez, the council's president.

Public meetings were held, where it was determined there was sufficient public interest, and the park district volunteered to help out and offered available land. After getting the official nod from the city and the park board, work started on staking out the land and spraying.

"We're really excited about the garden," Lopez said. "We drive by about three times a week."

Time is running short this year, but local gardening enthusiasts are still going to try to get some things in the ground this month.

Kent Morrow, a local attorney and gardening enthusiast, has volunteered to serve as volunteer coordinator for the effort, and is taking names and money. Morrow said there is a $25 fee to rent a spot, and another $25 for a deposit. If the gardener at the end of the season, early October, leaves the spot weedless, and in the condition it was received, they get back $20. So, the total cost for a plot would be $30, he said.

"It's primarily designed for people who don't have room (for a garden) in their own yard," Morrow said.

He said this particular garden spot was picked because it's fairly central. In future years it's hoped that, if the need is there, there will be community gardens in four areas of the city - making the gardens even more convenient.

Morrow said the park district will provide water, piping it from the warming house used during the winter for the ice skating rink. The other volunteer coordinator is Delphine Marshall.

Not many rules or policies have been established for this year. But the plan for this year's quick garden project is to have one area for organic gardening and another for those who plan to use chemicals.

Marshall, who plans to rent a plot with a friend and put in some tomatoes and peppers, said the only other restrictions for this year is that the plots be kept weed-free and that only annuals be planted, not perennials.

"Those things can spread so easily if not controlled," Marshall said.

Marshall said she's interested in gardening there in part for "the community thing, getting a bunch of people together," sharing gardening knowledge.

Morrow said he got involved in the effort because of the fond childhood memories he had of community gardens in Fargo. It provided his first gardening experience. His family's yard wasn't large enough for a garden, so they had a plot there. He would bike to it to weed and work on it.

"I learned through trial and error,"he said.

To get more information, call Morrow at255-1344.

(Reach reporter Virginia Grantier at 250-8254 or at virginia.grantier@;bismarcktribune.com.)