A community garden is the perfect way to fill a vacant lot in your neighborhood.Growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs in a community garden is a great way to bring people together.Adding a children's plot or flower garden to your garden will make it even more special.A community garden can be a lot of work, so get a group together to plan and plant it.You can keep your garden growing with this group.
Step 1: Talk to your neighbors to find out who is interested.
You can use this to send out a message if you already have a way to connect with everyone in your neighborhood.Most people will be home on a weekday evening.Make a list of people who would like to contribute to the garden.You can say hello to community members.I am from the street.If you are interested in working with our neighbors and I on something like that, you may be able to set up a town hall meeting.Contact a local governmental official or your neighborhood rep to find out if this is a good option for putting together a garden group.
Step 2: Gather at least 10 households.
There will be a lot of work involved in getting this garden up and running.A large group is needed to handle the load.It's great if you end up with more families than fifteen.If your group gets too large, there may be problems with available space.The group should be capped at about twenty families.There is no set size for a garden.A single- family plot is usually 10 by 15 feet.If you have twenty families with plots, you need a minimum space of 3000 square feet.The majority of community gardens are between 2,000 and 5,000 square feet.It will work great if you have access to a smaller spot.Your community garden can be small or large.
Step 3: Only people willing to commit to a work schedule are included.
Members of your group will need to regularly water and weed their own plots, as well as help take care of any group plots.Prospective families should understand these responsibilities before joining the group.
Step 4: The president, treasurer, and other officers should be nominated.
The best way to take care of your garden is to assign certain people.It will prevent the work from piling up and keep the garden running smoothly.A president can talk to members of different families about any issues that come up.The president might have to talk to the group about following the watering schedule.The duties of the president could be split by a vice-president.Water, land-leasing, electricity, and trash disposal bills can be paid out of the group's bank account.Whenever your group or the officers meet, the secretary can keep track of all your records and take notes.There are monthly and annual events for your garden club.
Step 5: You should have a plan for elections to replace your officers.
Being an officer can involve a lot of work.Pick a time to hold elections.If you want to electing your officers, gather the group together to put names in a hat or use an online survey tool.
Step 6: If you have to, make a budget and raise money for the garden.
Depending on the size of your plot, location, and what you want to include in your garden, your startup costs can vary a lot.Most typical gardens will cost between $2,500 and 5,000USD to start.You can start a collection in your neighborhood or host an event.Don't spend more on your events than you make.There is a car wash, bake sale, or craft fair.It is possible to have startup costs close to zero for some groups.If you have access to an empty space that an owner allows you to use for free and you can gather gardening tools, seeds, and other supplies from among your neighbors, you will not have any start-up expenses.You will likely have low-cost monthly expenses to cover water and electricity bills in the future.
Step 7: You may be eligible for grants.
If there are public funds that can be used to offset your costs, please contact your local government officials.There are grants that businesses can offer for planting a community garden.It can be difficult to write a grant, but it might be worth it to try.You may be able to get donations of gardening tools, seeds, manure, and even cash from local businesses and/or neighborhoods institutions.
Step 8: You can find suitable land for your garden.
There are empty, well-sized plots of land that receive at least six hours of sunlight.A majority of your gardening group members should be within a ten-minute walk of the land.Information about water access and ownership can be found by writing down the addresses of potential spots.
Step 9: Make sure you have access to water.
You should contact the utility company that covers the area to find out if the spots you picked already have water pipes.You will have to pay a lot of money to put piping down, and make sure that the installation complies with local laws.If you speak to a customer service representative from the water company, you can find out if the area already has piping and a water meter.The company that provides you with your water should be the one in your neighborhood that has the potential plots.
Step 10: Contact the owner of the land to set up a lease.
You should be able to find the owner of the land by contacting your local government and giving them the address.If you want to lease the land for a community garden, you need to write a letter.It's important to keep the cost of the land low.If this is a vacant lot, the owner of the land won't benefit from it.Garden plots can be leased for as little as $1 per year.To show the benefits of the lease, say that the community garden will help the whole community and raise land values.The owner of the property won't have to pay any land-related fees to the government.It is advisable to negotiate a lease that lasts at least one year.
Step 11: Should the site be insured?
You might want to take out an insurance policy on the garden to protect yourself from lawsuits.Any injuries that occur in the garden can be covered with a liability insurance policy.You can get advice about the best policy option from several insurance companies.The garden group has a shared bank account that can be used to pay the monthly fee.
Step 12: Establish the rules of your garden.
Group members can discuss how they want the garden to be run at a meeting.The rules can be voted on by the members.They can be written down and posted at the garden site.It is a good time to decide who will care for the community plots.Rules could cover the issue of pets being allowed in the garden, as well as whether children under 18 will be allowed without adults present.
Step 13: Take a look at the soil's drainage.
To test drainage, dig a hole in the soil and fill it with water.Allow it to drain and then fill it again.The soil has good drainage if the hole doesn't drain for 15 minutes.Slow draining soil can be found if the hole takes more than an hour to drain.If you look for signs of erosion and low spots where water could pool, you can assess the drainage of the soil.Good drainage is needed for trees, flowers, and vegetables.Adding compost and well-rotted manure may be able to improve the drainage if it doesn't need to be adjusted too much.Underground piping is needed to remove excess water from drainage issues.
Step 14: The soil quality can be tested with a pH testing kit.
At your local gardening supply store, you can buy a pH testing kit.If you want to find out the pH level of the soil, you have to get soil samples from multiple spots.Plants thrive in soil with a pH of between 6.5 and 6.8.The plants prefer a pH of 4.5 and thrive in acidic soil.You need to research the plants you want to grow in your garden.Adding compost and well-rotted manure can improve the soil.
Step 15: The land has weeds, soil, and debris.
First, remove the garbage from the lot.Use a rake or hoe to break up the soil and eliminate weeds.Prepare the soil for planting by smoothing it out and packing it down.Gardeners should wear thick gloves when clearing garbage.You don't want to get tetanus because there could be rusty and germ-filled materials in your lot.
Step 16: You should mark the boundaries of your plots.
Measure out each family plot and label them with their last names.Determine which plots will be used for community spaces such as a shared herb or children's garden.Plot labels can be created using permanent marker and paint sticks.Families can later make more fun and personalized wooden signs.
Step 17: If you have a budget, install an irrigation system.
An automatic irrigation system might be a good investment since watering will be the major daily task.Your site will need to be wired for electricity and have a plug in order to function.Provide plenty of watering cans and install an outdoor water faucet for a more cost-effective option.The cost to install a sprinkler system with the controller could be as high as $3,300USD.The higher end of the range will see prices fall due to larger gardens and high-quality systems.The cost of setting up an outdoor water faucet should be between $300 and 450 dollars.
Step 18: A fence and sign are needed.
Depending on your budget, either hire professionals or install the fence yourself.Pick a name for the garden.There is a sign on the fence with the garden's name and some contact information that members of the public can use to ask questions.You should not install a security system or barbed wire if the fence isn't going to completely eliminate vandals.The garden is part of the community and you want it to be friendly for all of your neighbors.
Step 19: Make a sitting area by building a shed.
If you place a storage shed in the corner of your garden, you will be able to protect your gardening tools from weather and vandals.A shady area with places to sit and a picnic table is what you will want.If there is no shade, buy a pergola.Hay bales can be used as seats.
Step 20: Vegetables, flowers, and herbs can be planted.
It is time to plant.Many individual family vegetable plots and shared herb and flower gardens can be found in a community garden.You can always plant your own flowers.Pick a day when the group can tackle the community plots together and have families start individual plots on their own.Tomatoes, lettuce, sugar snap peas, green beans, and summer squash are some good vegetables to start with.A good herb garden should include basil, chives, lavender, parsley, thyme, and Rosemary.There are many flowers that are great companion flowers for vegetables.They will attract good bugs and keep bad ones away.
Step 21: Allow people to care for their own plots.
Group members should visit the garden often to water their plots.They need to collect vegetables during the harvest season.They should kill the plants.Group members will have to decide how often they visit their plots.They will need to stop by every day during hot weather.They can probably only visit once a week during the off-season.If individual families aren't taking care of their plots, ask if they'd like a different family to take it over
Step 22: There is a watering and weeding schedule for shared plots.
The community plots should be assigned to one family for one to two weeks at a time.Once you have gone through the whole group, start the schedule over.You might want to make the president responsible for visiting the garden at least once per week to check on the shared areas.
Step 23: Compost, recycle, and trash bins can be used to manage waste.
Make sure everyone knows how to compost and recycle by setting up a group meeting.If you are clear about what materials should and shouldn't be composted, you'll be able to use the compost to enrich your soil.Plants, meat, and animal waste should not be composted.The goodbacteria that you want in there could be prevented by these.It's a good idea to use caution when composting weeds.Make sure they don't develop seeds that can corrupt your compost pile, such as when a yellow dandelion becomes a white puffball.If you end up with weeds in your compost, make sure the pile is hot enough to break them down by turning it at least once a week.
Step 24: Keep in touch with the group with an email list.
You can set up a mailing list with major email services.The president of the garden group should send out a message at least once a month.Community updates, growing guides, event announcements, and any other communications you need to share should be included.Communication will keep the group together.That is what a community garden is all about.
Step 25: Community meals can be shared in the garden.
You can make a delicious meal out of the vegetables and herbs you have grown.You can invite people from the neighborhood who are not members of the garden group.This is a great way to show the value of your garden.
Step 26: The speakers should talk about gardening and the environment.
You can reach out to a local gardening store or community college.If there are gardeners, horticulturalists, landscapers, or environmental scientists who would be willing to speak to your garden group, then you should check them out.This could be a great way for your group to get to know each other.Topics that could be considered include sustainable gardening, pest and weed control, or garden management.You could try to get a local chef to trade some vegetables for a cooking lesson.