Community gardens are open again; suspicious material deemed ‘benign’
The Cupertino Community Gardens at McClellan Ranch have reopened after they were closed more than two weeks ago when the city discovered “potentially hazardous material.”
A notice sent out to gardeners on June 28 explained that the gardens had been reopened after tests of the material turned out to be “benign.”
The city has not yet responded to requests for more detail about what the material was.
Gardeners were first notified on June 14 that the gardens had been closed and the city held a public meeting on June 21 to answer questions from gardeners and provide more information.
It was there that Jeff Milkes, director of recreation and community services, said a city employee “witnessed a person urinating” in a garden plot and subsequently found “eight 5-gallon pickle buckets and two garbage cans” containing what Milkes said the gardener described as a “compost tea,” but that the city was unsure about what the buckets contained and if the material posed a threat to public health.
Milkes said the city requested the gardener provide a list of ingredients for the “compost tea” which included sugar cane, citrus peels and possibly dairy products.
Milkes told the approximately 30 gardeners at the meeting that an industrial hygienist suggested closing the gardens while samples from the soil and buckets are tested. The city said it would water plants in the garden twice a day while the facilities were closed.
The city plans to do further testing in the gardens to gauge the health of the soil and do an “overhaul on the garden procedures,” according to the notice sent out on June 28.
The notice also reminded gardeners to “wash all produce under running water before you cut, cook, or eat it” regardless if its purchased at the supermarket, farmers market, or grown in a personal back yard or garden.
Contact Kristi Myllenbeck at 408-200-1039.