Creating a Community Garden

(This post is for a PEP Community BB so it may read a little funny since I'm trying to satisfy the requirements of the BB)

About two years ago I was teaching a few classes at the local college on homesteading and permaculture topics.  My main contact at the college is totally in tune with the permaculture concept, sustainability, Earth Day, Aldo Leopold, etc.  Late last winter I broached the topic of putting a community garden in the front lawn of the college.  Partially for the community garden aspects, partially as a place to teach gardening and homesteading classes, and secretly to show off permaculture stuff to people.  He liked the idea and we kicked it around for a month or two before deciding to try to move it forward.

For reference, the city has a population around 7,500 and many towns in the region have community gardens.

We each drew in a couple people from our personal networks that we thought would be interested and had a meeting in late April 2020 to see if there was enough horsepower to pull it off.  About 10 people attended and it was clear that there was interest and support.  We pulled in the Extension person who works with community development and he helped us run our initial meetings.  We figured out how to be organized, what to do about "501c-3" and stuff like that.  Over the course of the summer we figured out exactly where the garden would go, who our partner organizations would be (College, local Art non-profit and Extension) and how we wanted to run the garden.

Early on in the project, other members of the board came up with the idea of calling it the "Northwoods Community Garden and Permaculture Training Center".  Woo hoo!  I didn't even have to push the permaculture aspect and it ended up becoming a focus :)

The project was approved by the college board in September (apparently that was very fast) and we broke ground.  We build a fence around about 1.5 acres, cut away the sod from the garden plots and brought in compost to replace the missing sod.  We did this with volunteer labor and the equipment of a local nursery/landscaper just down the street.  

Over winter we did fundraising (permies thread about it), publicity and came up with the rules.

When the snow melted we finished the fencing, plotted out the beds (10'x20'), made ADA compliant raised beds and set water totes in the garden.   We rented out all 48 plots in the ground and three raised beds.  Four people got double plots which means we're helping about 47 people to garden.  The center of the garden is for some fiber and dye classes.

The garden is in full swing now.  Flowers, zucchini and gardeners abound.  Along with hummingbirds, butterflies, toads and other wildlife that wouldn't normally be in a mowed field.  The waiting list for next year has 5 people on it already and we're preparing for 12 more plots.

Tips for starting a garden:

Get a core group of 5+ people involved from the beginning

Don't let it become your project, it has to be larger than you

Partner with other non-profits, schools, organizations that can help with cross promotion and support

Have faith that if you get the word out, people will come and help

Start a garden during a pandemic.  More folks will be interested in gardening :)

Mike, you just got a tip of my hat. Collossal!

My hypothetical community garden is in a local town. There is a 'town square' that might as well have tumbleweeds. Bordered by businesses, library, coffee shop. It's so obvious. I have this notion of an instant "pop-up" garden using industrial crates (free) and soil (TBA but I have ideas). It would just appear -- except that there has to be a water tap, and that will a beauracratic boondoggle. But it could still work. The local Lions club has lots of pull, and I know a few of them. And the town is trying to create a buzz that moves past 1965 oilfield stuff. Hmmm.

If you start it, they will come.....

Mike Haasl wrote:If you start it, they will come.....

And "no good deed goes unpunished." We will see.