Community gardens commonly include:
- Individual garden plots
- Paths between beds
- Compost bins
- A shed or other structure for storing tools
- Spots to hook up hoses for watering
- A common area for gathering, which could include benches or picnic tables and a source of shade
- A fence around the outside to protect your garden from vandalism and theft
How do you create a community garden?
Part 2 of 4: Planning Your Garden
- Make a budget and raise funds for the garden if you need to. ...
- See if you’re eligible for grants. Contact your local government officials to check if there are public funds that could offset your costs.
- Find suitable land for your garden. ...
- Ensure that you have access to water. ...
- Contact the landowner to set up a lease. ...
- Decide whether to insure the site. ...
What makes an effective community garden?
What Makes a Community Garden Thrive?
- A place to gather. A comfortable, shaded seating area provides space for shared meals, meetings, classes, performances, and casual conversations. ...
- A place for children. Many community gardens create s paces specially designated as children’s areas. ...
- A communication kiosk. Community gardens need a way to visually communicate messages. ...
- Ample signage. ...
How to start a community garden in your neighborhood?
- Make a sign for the garden. ...
- Fences can be of almost any material. ...
- Create a shady meeting area in the garden and spend time there.
- Invite everyone in the neighborhood to participate from the very beginning. ...
- Involve the neighborhood children in learning gardens. ...
How to start a community or organic garden?
Perform Ongoing Maintenance
- Crop Rotation. Crop rotation is a proven method used to keep soil optimal each season. ...
- Plant Food. Adding an organic plant food periodically will help boost plants’ production and keep them happy. ...
- Keep Your Organic Garden Clean. Part of learning how to make an organic garden is keeping on top of garden cleanliness. ...
What should be included in a community garden?
Contributions of land, tools, seeds, fencing, soil improvements or money are all vital to a successful community garden. Some community gardens can provide most of their provisions through fees charged to the membership; but for many, a garden sponsor is essential.
What are the features of a community garden?
Community Gardens: The distinguishing characteristic is that community gardeners grow their produce on shared lots that have been divided into smaller plots of land for each household's use (usually for a small fee).
What is the goal of a community garden?
Community gardens allow people from diverse backgrounds to work side-by-side with common goals. Food Production: Community gardens can provide a significant source of food and/or income. Community gardens allow families and individuals without land of their own the opportunity to produce food.
What are 3 benefits of a community garden?
Here's a closer look at 7 of the major benefits of community gardening.Beautifying the Landscape. ... Making Fresh Produce Accessible. ... Promoting Healthier Lifestyles. ... Cleaning up the Environment. ... Building Stronger Communities. ... Opportunities for Learning. ... Relieving Stress and Increasing Wellness.
What are 3 kinds of community gardens?
Types of Community GardensPlot Gardens (divide into individual plots)Cooperative Gardens (work as a team on one large garden)Youth Gardens.Entrepreneurial Market Gardens (sell produce)Therapeutic Gardens.
How can you make a community garden sustainable?
Creating a Sustainable Community GardenKeep It Local. ... Use Recycled Materials. ... Solar and Rainwater Collection. ... Community Compost. ... Youth Education. ... A Welcoming Space for All. ... Brittany Quale is the Project & Design Coordinator for NYC Parks GreenThumb.
What happens in a community garden?
Normally in community gardens, the land is divided into individual plot, and each individual gardener is responsible for their own plot and the yielding or the production of which belongs to the individual, and in collective gardens the piece of land is not divided, a group of people cultivate it together and the ...
How can we encourage people in the garden?
10 Ways to Encourage Gardening in Your CommunityShare compost. ... Organize a harvest swap. ... Start a seed swap. ... Set out a free produce stand. ... If you're feeling ambitious you could start a community garden. ... Encourage your local library to stock garden-themed books. ... Offer a class. ... Plant your garden close to the road.More items...•
How big should a community garden be?
o 30-100 square feet is a great beginner garden size o 100-300 square feet of space is adequate for most households o 300-600 for more serious gardeners wanting to cook frequently and preserve food for winter. o More than 600 square feet can be a serious “mini-farm” supplying large quantities of food during the main ...
Why do community gardens fail?
Whether it's your plants, tools, or cash that goes missing, theft is at least an occasional fact of life for most all community gardens. Sadly, vandalism in the form of property destruction or defacement also occurs. While non-members are the most obvious culprits, intra-garden shenanigans are known to occur, too!
Who are the stakeholders in a community garden?
Garden Members and Stakeholders Support garden in a multitude of ways, either by gardening, reading, volunteering, mowing parkway, attending events, and/or donating time, materials, ideas, encouragement, or money. Stakeholders are broadly defined, and could include neighbors, schools, churches, businesses, etc.
How can community gardens help?
They can be a beneficial addition to many communities by increasing the availability of nutritious foods, strengthening community ties, reducing environmental hazards, reducing food miles and creating a more sustainable system.
What are the benefits of community gardens?
The Many Benefits of Community Gardens. Greenleaf Communities believes that urban agriculture can be beneficial to the environment, and to the health and wellbeing of community members. The introduction of community gardens may be able to reduce the impact of food deserts in low-income areas and allow residents greater access to nutritious food ...
Why were victory gardens important during WWII?
During WWII, victory gardens were an important source of food for American families. Recently, there has been a resurgence of community gardens to help mitigate the impacts of food deserts and as a use for the increased number of vacant lands present in urban areas.
How can gardens improve economic opportunities?
Gardens can improve economic opportunities by training volunteers and selling food at farmers’ markets [1]
How can community gardens help reduce environmental impacts?
Community gardens can help reduce negative environmental impacts by promoting sustainable agriculture; reducing food transportation costs and reducing water runoff. Humans, plants and animals can all benefit from urban agriculture since it creates habitats and improves the ecology of the area. Community gardens:
Why are social ties important?
Social ties are important to the wellbeing of people in a community since they can bring positive health effects and community involvement. Community gardens allow for the creation of social ties and build a greater feeling of community. These connections help reduce crime, empower residents and allow residents to feel safe in their neighborhoods.
Is Chicago Botanic Garden an urban garden?
The Chicago Botanic Garden is also offers urban agriculture opportunities for students and adults to receive training and work on maintaining urban gardens: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/community/
Why is a community garden important?
Below are 16 of my favorite reasons why a community garden is good for any neighborhood. 1. Community gardens make affordable, fresh produce available to all. Creating a community garden is an excellent way to make sure that all community members have access to healthy fresh produce that’s affordable too.
What is a community garden?
A community garden can be described as a space where people in a community come together to grow and nurture various fruits, herbs, vegetables, and plants, in general. In most instances, a plot or piece of land is rented or donated to the cause.
What are the benefits of community gardening?
16 benefits and advantages of a community garden: Fresh, affordable veggies for everyone. Reduces stress and promotes a sense of well-being. Improves fitness. Strengthens the community bond and camaraderie. Reduces pollution and food transport carbon footprint. Promotes food security.
What is the waste that a neighborhood produces?
Much of the waste that a neighborhood produces is through packaging used on fresh produce and fresh produce waste such as seeds, peels, etc. When a community garden is properly managed, it will supply fresh produce to the neighborhood, which thus eliminates commercial packaging. Skins and waste from the vegetables, fruits, and herbs can be put back into the garden for composting.
How does gardening help neighbors?
By working together in a community garden, neighbors can get to know each other, chat with each other, and become friends while they work on a rewarding project together. This creates a strong social connection, which leads to an overall sense of social well-being.
What does "beautiful" mean in the neighborhood?
Beautifies the neighborhood & instills a sense of pride.
How does gardening together promote social well-being?
12. Gardening together promotes social well-being by strengthening social connections with neighbors.
Why is it important to have a community garden?
Equal opportunity in relation to community gardens is immensely satisfying, rewarding and significant for many reasons. The accessibility to fresh food for some may be limited due to barriers such as affordability. The higher cost of fresh grocery store produce compared to that which is home grown is irrefutable. Also, a community garden may be the closest, and perhaps the only, source of fresh food available to a gardener with a limited means of transportation and mobility. These are just one of many community garden advantages.
Why do we need community gardens?
Community gardens imbue us with a sense of sharing, sustainability and encourage smart space usage. In fact, a community garden is a phenomenon that is widely embraced by many, and for good reason – the benefits of community gardening not only enrich each individual gardener but the surrounding community as a whole.
How does gardening affect mental health?
Gardening is a physical activity and participation gives you the prospect of improved physical health. Your state of mental health could also be given a positive boost because gardening is a stress-reducing, relaxing activity. It is even backed by scientific studies. When gardening, you interact with soil antidepressant microbes that make you happier and healthier.
What is Bonnie's perspective on community gardens?
Bonnie’s viewpoint: While the idea of a community garden is a generous one, some of the realities behind such gardens are rather uncomfortable. Considering the cons of urban agriculture can help you decide if you want to be involved in such activities. Below are some examples: Conflicts.
Why are community gardens bad?
Neighborhood groups say one of the primary problems with community gardens is the potential to transform an area, changing the character and flavor of a neighborhood, while decreasing garden space use for underprivileged gardeners. Additionally, a tug of war among non-profits to access grants, donations, and local business sponsorships is a community garden downside. Such competition for scarce resources may diminish each project, leaving them without adequate resources due to demand.
Why are community gardens called community gardens?
Community gardens are aptly named because they do just that – they foster a sense of community. These gardens help people literally and figuratively find common ground, bringing people of different ages and backgrounds together in one place with one common interest.
Do all neighborhoods have vacant lots?
All neighborhoods have vacant lots. And, as we all know, sometimes bad things start happening in good, but otherwise empty, spaces. This is where the benefits of community gardening can really be seen as, once community gardens start overtaking vacant lots, the level of crime in an area seems to reduce, yet another of the many pros ...
How to bring community to your garden?
But to bring a little more “community” to your community garden, try touting one day a month—the third Saturday, for example—on which all available members try to come. This gives people a chance to meet each other and work on any larger “all hands” tasks.
What are the benefits of community gardens?
Don’t get us started about the many benefits a community garden can bring to your neighborhood. From increasing access to fresh produce, to encouraging outdoor exercise and social interaction, to improving air and soil quality, to reducing crime, the list of perks is quite long.
What happens when a community garden goes missing?
Whether it’s your plants, tools, or cash that goes missing, theft is at least an occasional fact of life for most all community gardens. Sadly, vandalism in the form of property destruction or defacement also occurs. While non-members are the most obvious culprits, intra-garden shenanigans are known to occur, too!
How to get money back from a garden?
Get a deposit. Most gardens collect annual dues from members. These pay for shared supplies and help to ensure that members will take their gardening responsibilities seriously. In addition, you can consider collecting a one-time maintenance deposit: if the member wants to leave the garden and has kept their plot in good order, they get their money back. If they want to leave and haven’t been keeping it up—or, if they just stop coming—their deposit becomes a “cleanup fee” and stays in the garden’s general fund.
Why is it important to maintain a community garden?
But because it’s not paid work or a family obligation, it can also be one of the first commitments to slide when life gets hectic. When members stop showing up, their plots can become overgrown or go to seed, inviting pests and keeping the garden from looking its best.
How does a garden bring in money?
Your garden may bring in funds by many means: collecting member fees, organizing crowdfunding campaigns, receiving grants, etc. Make sure your steering committee records all the money that’s coming in and how it’s being spent. You may also want to make these records available to any member who wants to see them.
How to make a gardener commit to work?
When they join, have members commit to doing a certain amount of work per week or month, and have them sign in on an attendance sheet when they do their work . Setting expectations from the start can help gardeners make the necessary time in their schedules, and reviewing the sign-in log can show who’s been missing from duty.
