[Community_garden] Responding to two questions

[Tori Ford]

one - RE: organization of community gardens:
Denver Urban Gardens is a non-profit with a lot of city funding.  This is a great model, as long as city-funding remains available.  It is great having the strong connection to parks and rec, schools, and other city land for gardens, but as a npo, we also reach into other suburban cities around us.  We also can advocate for policies around land-use, etc.  I think it is a great model if there is sufficient funding sources.  Getting city funding does mean a lot of additional paperwork. 

two - wheelchair accessible gardens
We have had mixed experience with crusher fine paths and are still tweaking it.  There was a yucca derivative recommended for hardening/binding the crusher fine, but we found people getting stuck, particularly in the motorized wheelchairs which are much heavier than manually self-propelled chairs.  We used some Portland cement over the crusher fine, wet it, and added additional loose crusher fine for aesthetics.  This has been more successful, but the loose crusher fine still makes it difficult, and the path needs to stay relatively dry to prevent sticky spots for wheelchairs.  A drip irrigation system helps eliminate excess water on the paths, and in our arid climate, that helps.  I'm still not satisfied, but this garden is just about a year old, so the path hasn't had time to pack down.  I wouldn't recommend anything loose that won't pack down over time.

tori
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DENVER URBAN GARDENS
3377 Blake Street, Suite 113
Denver, Colorado 80205
office: 303-292-9900 
fax: 303-292-9911
www.dug.org