[Community_garden] Policies and best practices

[Powellharris at aol.com]

Martha,
I applaud the property owner that requires that you develop and adhere to  
"Best Practices" in the management of land that has been entrusted to your  
organization for a community garden. "Best Practices"
simply put means that you will maximize the intended use of the land while  
minimizing the impact of your
use on the surrounding environment.  Sometimes the maximum use of a  land 
area is a passive preservation
area that is intended to showcase native plants and provide wildlife  
habitat.  Other land areas may be intensely gardened or farmed to  efficiently feed 
many people. Even increased density housing with  clustered 
retail and services may be a "Best Practice" for land use when it  clusters 
people to minimize their impact
on their surroundings by freeing nearby land to be used for wildlife  
habitat, gardens and farms.    
 
"Best Practices" for the gardened and farmed areas dictate that you water  
efficiently, use minimal pesticides, add fertilizer only when needed, and  
carefully control any water run-off.  Even "organic"
pesticides can destroy beneficial insects and harm animals.   "Organic" 
fertilizers sometimes break-
down very rapidly and the components inadvertently affect water  quality 
through run-off.
 
Your city, county, or state Department of Natural Resources or  Department of 
Environmental Protection and
your local Cooperative Extension Service may have suggested "Best  Practices" 
that you can
adapt to your situation.  You may have to search a bit to find the  
information but it exists and is usually
in a reasonably easy to interpret format.
 
 
Barbara Powell Harris
Master Gardener Volunteer
Community Garden Coordinator
Rosemary Community Garden/Orange Blossom Community Garden
PO Box 3906
Sarasota, FL 34230-3906 



**************************************Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest 
products.
(http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20071204/51ddd2f1/attachment.html