ok, so DS12 and have really gotten into gardening. Through research we found out about community gardening. He's planning to submit an idea to our association for a community garden. This is the center of our development. It's fully stocked with bass and bluegill. It's fun place for the kids to fish and there's lots of berries growing in the wooded area next to it. That got DS thinking it would be kinds neat to throw in some veggies in little gardens all around it. As it is, we pay association dues just to have someone come and mow and keep the bike path clean. However, there's money left over. I'm wondering if the association would be willing to put in a few raised beds? I mean, everyone here, knows everyone. It's just a circle. Maybe 1oo houses. At least 150 kids. That's alot of people who could take turns tending the gardens. It would teach the neighborhood kids that work pays off. And by helping tend it, everyone would have something to take home in the end. Does anyone see any reason why this couldn't work? Or is there a specific idea you have that could help it work? I know it's easy to 'think' about, but how is it to do? Anyone else have a community garden? How does it work? Does everyone take turns tending? How is the produce distributed etc...
There are logistics that have to be thought out such as you mentioned, how to distribute work and produce. Our town attempted a community garden and I will tell you how it worked, what the pros and cons were. They put in a gated area and built about 25 wood barriers to create plots. Each participant paid a fee and were given a key to open the padlock on the gated area. In addition to the plots there were 2 water spigots on opposite ends of the area. The pros: it was nice to have a designated area since so many houses here have tiny back yards. It worked well to have the divided areas and each person had the responsibility for their area and benefitted from the work they put in. The cons list is much larger and the reason it did not survive. The location chosen is at a local park, but it was completely exposed to full sun and harsh wind. In AZ, those add up to some hot, dry conditions that wilt plants quickly. Participants HAD to water daily or previous reasons killed plants. Birds and prairie dogs ate anything you tried to grow from seeds as soon as they sprouted and any produce that emerged. They tried many efforts to keep them out, but it just did not help. We also teamed up with another family to take turns watering since. After a few months, we finally transported everything to our back yard and gave up on the community garden. Eventually, everyone pulled out (I haven't checked lately, but am pretty sure no one is using it). It sounds like you plan on having it inside your community which will have more success as we had to drive 10 minutes to get to our garden. Also, consider your soil. I know that for us, we were give a dirt plot and each person had to figure out how to make it fertile. Good luck on this venture, it really is a great idea. I would have loved it if ours worked out. Maybe my long list can offer you some ideas about what to do and what to avoid.
Thank you so much. So each family rents a plot? I wasn't sure how that worked. I thought we just equally passed out veggies to each family, given that it was everyone's association dues that would pay for the garden. However, in hindsight, there may be those that don't even want any or there will be one or two people who do all the work. My other concern was some of the kids. I'd hate for some of the rowdy bunch to rip them out or throw tomatoes. It's gonna be harder to put into play than it will be to propose. I'm thinking if the proposal is submitted but then left open to ideas from the rest of the neighborhood, we might have a better chance. BUT for some of the rowdy kids, there is no actual discipline or consequences, so whatever they do they get away with...(although last year, this 15 yr old keyed my car and I called the cops, he did it right in front of me! But they've since moved). It's a bigger task than it initially seemed. We've been brainstorming for hours on the best approach.
If you do decide to go ahead or if you want to make a small area for yourself I'd recommend checking out the square foot gardening method. You get a large yield in a small area and learn a lot about how plants interact and gardening in general.
PSTeacher I agree! square foot is how they do our areas community garden. We have our own in the back but dh wanted better sun so was looking into how they do it, its way too much for the small patch, but they do charge the community a small fee for the use. This way it pays for a care taker, someone who will watch for rodents, and such make sure everyone gets watered etc. Just a little info I hope I helped!
