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COLUMBIA (WACH) -- Get your shovels and rakes ready because it's almost time to get dirty.

The City of Columbia will be ready for residents to begin planting seeds in their plots on April 15.

The Community Gardens program was established to help improve the quality of health among citizens through a nutritious diet and physical activity achieved through gardening.

The city has 69 plots in four different locations that residents can lease by the year.

Organizers say were surprised at how well the idea was received.

“For instance at NOMA (North Main) Community Garden we initially thought we would do 20 beds and we had to expand to 40 beds,” says senior assistant city manager S. Allison Baaer, “and all 40 of those beds now are gone.”

There are only 11 plots available at the Community Garden near Hyatt Park on Jackson Street.

The city provides the soil, compost, and water for $20 a year.  Residents are required to follow a few basic gardening guidelines in order to participate.

If you’d like to learn more about the initiative, click here.