Community Gardens
Community/Neighborhood Gardens
Community or Neighborhood Gardens are garden areas shared by a number of people. Gardeners share tools, knowledge and labor to produce food for themselves and others. There are an estimated 18,000 community gardens throughout Canada and the United States.
We’ll use the term “Community Gardens” since it’s more commonly used. However “Neighborhood Garden” is more appropriate for those gardens that are within walking distance in your own neighborhood, and “Community Gardens” for those which are not so easy to walk to and likely require a bicycle, car or public transit to reach.
Join a community garden
To find an existing community garden, check with your city parks department or your county or local state agricultural advisor. If that doesn’t work, try the local school district. If that doesn’t work, start one yourself.
OR
Start a community garden
Talk to the city parks department or your county agricultural advisor for advice and a possible location. If that doesn’t work, join up with some neighbors and search for a vacant lot or other suitable location.
If you find a location, contact the owner. You might have to go through the local planning department to find out who owns the lot. Tell the owner what you’d like to do. Tell him/her you’re offering to clean up the lot for free. If that’s not enough, promise the owner some of the produce you grow.
If you can’t find a vacant lot, maybe you can team up with the neighborhood school. For more assistance, check with your local Master Gardeners group (in the United States) or any other local gardening club.
Here are some resources that will tell you exactly the steps you need to take—based on successful community garden projects elsewhere.
Here are the basic initial steps from the American Community Garden Association’s document “Starting a Community Garden”.
-
Form a planning committee
-
Choose a site
-
Prepare and develop the site
-
Organize the garden
-
Insurance
-
Setting up a new gardening organization
You’ll find full details through their website listed below.
OR at least…
Buy food from a community garden
Many community gardens donate their food to local food banks or other organizations. They may also sell at farmers markets. Check with the community gardens in your area to see where they sell their food, or if you can buy vegetables directly from them.
Community Garden Resources
American Community Garden Association
www.communitygarden.org
Non-profit organization for rural and urban gardening.
Starting a Community Garden
www.communitygarden.org/learn/starting-a-community-garden.php
Free fact sheet from the ACGA.
Garden Your City
[book]
Author: Barbara Hobens Feldt
How to start an urban garden.
Seattle P-Patch Community Gardens
www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/ppatch
Pioneer in city-sponsored community gardening.
Seattle Tilth
www.seattletilth.org
A leader in organic community gardens.
Master Gardeners
www.ahs.org/master_gardeners
American Horticultural Society guide to Master Gardeners throughout the United States. The gardeners provide free expert advice and training to home gardeners.
A few community gardens already exist throughout the Napa Valley, but there’s a need for many more—most likely in your area.
Napa County Master Gardeners
http://groups.ucanr.org/mgnapa/
Free expert advice and training for gardeners.
Napa Community Garden
www.napacommunitygarden.org
Napa now has a community garden available to any resident. The garden is located at the corner of Trower and Jefferson Streets, on land made available by the Napa Valley Lutheran Church. The garden has 50 plots ready for 2009 with an additional 100 available in the coming years; each plot rents for $50/year. The city of Napa has helped to provide the initial water hookup to the garden, and plot rental fees primarily cover water usage fees and other site maintenance activities.Napa Community Garden
www.napacommunitygarden.org (not yet operative)
SW corner of Trower and Jefferson streets
Lena Septimo – info@napacommunitygarden.org
707.261.6316
