[Community_garden] Starting from scratch: the small CommunityGarden

[jude carson]

Hi Susan et all;
As one who had a similar interest in gardening and starting a community 
garden, I share both your enthusiasm and concern. From someone who is still 
learning after seven years of running a community garden, here are a few 
suggestions:

* Definitely try to get other interested parties involved in the startup or 
you will be overwhelmed. Put out notices through the media and any method 
you have to attract people who might be interested in starting a garden. 
Perhaps, a local garden centre or educational facility or garden club might 
turn up interested people.

A community garden is supposed to be a COMMUNITY and that means more than 
one person should be responsible for keeping it running smoothly. Our garden 
is still trying to achieve this but in reality, there are four or five 
dedicated souls who carry the project. I live in fear that they will tire or 
fall ill or stop wanting to be involved in this project. We have one person 
who acts as a manager, who knows all the gardeners and is the focus of their 
concerns and problems, which she then discusses with the rest of us. We have 
a dedicated(but bossy) chap who looks after the water system, which breaks 
down occasionally. He also does most of the mowing of the common grass areas 
and repairs whatever needs to be done. Another  gardener looks after 
registration and assigning plots(we have 100 plots 25 ax 4 ft), and another 
is the bag lady or treasurer. Another arranges social events, like an annual 
bbq at the gardens. I act as the contact with the city and community needs.
*Have an organizational meeting to come up with the size of the garden(s), 
testing of the viability of the land, water access, security 
concerns(including wildlife), fees that should be charged, etc. You can find 
out from this list serve examples of typical rules/bylaws for gardens or I 
can send you ours if you want. It's great if you can establish a good 
working relationship with your local government. EG, here in Saint John, New 
Brunswick, Canada, our land was "loaned" by the city Parks and Rec dept., 
water and lights are covered by the city, and they kicked in the $10,000 
needed for deer fencing. They also provide soil if we request it and a 
rental portapotty for the summer season. Supporting a project like this 
makes them look good and our gardens have even become a tourist attraction 
for all the cruise ship passengers in the summer months.
*Once you've got the basics in place, put out the word and the gardeners 
will come. But may I stress again that you should try to make them 
understand that if they don't participate in the jobs that have to be done: 
weeding, composting, etc. then they cannot be part of the garden. And having 
said that, I will admit that we are still trying to achieve this!
Finally, this is a wonderful thing you are trying to do so persist, and seek 
help and moral support from this list serve. Some of these people are 
amazing and I'd love to visit all their gardens. Cheers,

Jude in snow-bound New Brunswick