How to Start a Community Garden

How to Start a Community Garden by Cecilia

Getting Organized

Have you ever wanted to help your community by doing or organizing something big? What about a community garden? There are certain steps and precautions to take when organizing and actually planting a community garden. We will address those in this essay.

The first step to making a community garden is to figure out who’s interested. Try to stick with the people in your neighborhood, so they can be close to where the garden is. Once you’ve figured out who is interested, hold a group meeting to discuss, plan, and probably argue about the community garden. You should hold meetings regularly, so the group knows what you are planning and agree with it.

Next, you should find a plot of land in your neighborhood. The land should get a fair amount of sun on a daily basis. Probably six to eight hours. The land should also be fairly flat. Small slopes and slight hills are alright because they can be terraced. There also shouldn’t large amounts of rubble and cement from demolished buildings. Small debris and trash can be picked up by you and some of the other volunteers. If you find more than one suitable plot of land for the garden, write down the addresses and discuss among the interested party about which one is closest to everyone.

After that, you should find out who owns the land you’re interested in. It’s illegal to use their land without their consent.Maybe if they hear about the garden, they may get interested in helping out too!

Then, you and your interested party should plan a layout for the garden. You should involve the other people in the group as much as possible! I stress that very much. This is a community project, and if people don’t feel as if they’re all working as a community, they might stop helping.

The next step is to think and prepare for the problems you may face. You’ll have to think of maintenance and who will look for litter in the garden. There will most likely be theft and vandalism, so you could set up cameras or something of the sort. Then, you will have to think of the gardening and leadership skills each individual of the group has. There is also the issue of water. It would probably be a good idea to make sure there is a hose or fire hydrant near the land you’ll use. Also, there’s the problem of site permanency. If the owner of the land you’re using changes their mind about the garden being on their land, you’ll probably be kicked off the land. Be sure that he/she is completely sure about whether or not he/she is really sure that they want the garden on their land.

Now that you are finally out of the planning stage, you will need money and supplies. Things you could do for money is, hold bake sales, sell things people in the group don’t want/need anymore, or you could simply put containers in and outside community places that people can drop spare change into. For supplies you could go to gardening stores, see if anyone is willing to donate supplies in the community, or going to hardware stores for the tools needed.

After you get the supplies and amount of money needed, you should test the soil in the land you’re using for what kind of nutrients it has. This will explain what kind of fertilizer you should use. How you should take a soil sample is in the following quote,”To have a soil analysis done you need to collect 12 or more cores, which will be combined as one composite sample. The samples should include soil from the surface to a depth of 6 inches in all areas except for lawns where cores should be taken from a depth of only 2 to 3 inches. A simple garden trowel can be used to collect the samples. Place the samples in a clean bucket and mix them thoroughly. It is imperative to use clean sampling tools. Pesticide or fertilizer residues will create misleading results. The sample must not be excessively wet before it goes to the lab. Bring a minimum of 2 cups of soil per sample to your county Extension office. Be sure to keep track of which part of your yard the sample came from. At the Extension office they will ask you to fill out the information on a soil test bag, fill out a record sheet and check the appropriate boxes for the analyses desired. This test provides unbiased,

scientific information on:

•The soil pH value.

•The current soil levels of phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc

and manganese.

•Fertilizer and lime recommendations (if needed) for the plants you are growing,”(Starting a Community Gardening)

Now, here are some tips for planting your plants. You shouldn’t plant the vegetable in the shade unless they are grown for their leaves. Then you can plant them in partial shade.

Now that you have the steps required, the tips, and some ways to fundraise, you can start your community garden! I hope it works out for you. Have fun helping your community!

Bowen, Donna. Dabbs, Amy. Dickert, George. Lanford, Blake. Massey, Walker. Tanner, Cory. “Starting a Community Garden.” http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/vegetables/gardening/extension_community_gardening.pdf. Clemson Cooperative Extension. Feb 2014. Web. 31 Jan, 2014.

Mccullgh, Chantal. “The Best Fruits and Vegetables for your Paleo Garden.” http://paleoaholic.com/paleo/the-best-fruits-and-vegetables-for-your-paleo-garden/ Paleoaholic. Feb 2014. Web. 10 Feb, 2014.