Have you ever thought about starting a community garden and don’t know if you should? Well, I’m going to tell you why you should set your plans in motion today.
Starting a community garden can be exciting. If you are like I was when we joined forces to establish a community garden you may feel unsure of yourself. Do I know what I’m doing? may be the question you’ve asked yourself. Or will anyone else even be interested in such a venture?
You are going to learn about some of the best reasons why you should start a flower and vegetable garden in your community this year.
After reading these words of encouragement you will be pumped up to start planning, recruiting, and planting.
This post is going to help you see how not just your community, but you could benefit from a community garden.
Note to Yourself: “My List of Reasons to Start a Community Garden Near Me”:
1. You Are Totally Clueless About Gardening
When I started with a group of neighbors in a community garden near me, we were at different levels of gardening expertise. I felt like I had absolutely none. I grew up in a Chicago high rise. The only time I even touched soil (which I called dirt) was when I spent my summers in New York with my grandmother popping geraniums in her front yard. These were seedlings. Not from seed. So, I had no idea about the awesome wonder in seeing a plant grow from seed.
Fortunately for you, there are master gardeners available everywhere for you to consult.
2. You Want to Uplift Your Community
Whether it is beautification or just something for adults and kids to do, a community garden brings it all. When I looked out my 2nd floor Chicago 2-flat kitchen window I saw a vacant lot used as a dumping ground. It was an eyesore!
My husband and I always had a vision for a garden, but then came 2 ladies who put that same idea into action. I curiously walked myself outside and asked what they were doing. With paper and pen in hand, they showed me their rough plans to design and maintain a community garden. It was like the cloud gates of heaven opened (or maybe not). Nevertheless, I was in awe at the thought that I could join them.
My dream had come true and they had already done the hard work of getting permission from the city to use the land.
My husband and I own the land now [but that’s another story].
3. You Need Food
Can we agree we all need to eat? Growing food can be a simple but even hard labor of love.
Working in a community garden allows you to share not only the harvest, but the work.
It’s work to grow lots of food. The planting, the watering, the weeding, and let’s not forget the harvesting. But, in the end we all need food especially healthy organic food. And when you’re in a food desert like our west side community garden in Chicago you need to take matters into your own hands – get growing!
4. You and Your Team Share The Wealth In A Community Garden Association
Our flower and vegetable garden became apart of a network of garden communities. We share tools, greenhouse space, large projects (i.e. fence building, wood chip haul to cover large plots of land, bench building, tree hole digging, and knowledge.
We even come together in the garden season to sell the extra harvest at our very own farmer’s market.
5. You Want to Save Money
Gardening saves you money on your grocery bill, but pair that with a group of people bringing all of their seeds, seedlings, and time—talk about a savings (if you use the resources wisely and plan for your family).
6. To Educate You and Your Family
I am a descendant of southern farmers. People who knew where food comes from. Many in society could care less or rarely think of where their food comes from. My children, however, know a lot about that through their community garden experiences. Not only did they learn what happened to a seed placed in the soil, but they learned:
- beekeeping
- tree planting
- fertilizing
- watering
- weeding
- harvesting
- hard work
- team work
- so much more
Community gardening is like a garden city community college that will expose you and your children to the real world of working to achieve a common goal, the bountiful harvest.
7. You Don’t Have Flower and Vegetable Garden Space
Let’s face it city living can mean limited city space. If you are like many big city dwellers, do not have enough land for your kids to play on let alone grow food on. In a large city, container gardening on a deck or rooftop is popular. Community gardening on a large lot gives you the feel of large-scale farming or homesteading depending on how your community garden is organized. City farming is wonderful! Sometimes you forget you are in a bustling city.
8. You Get To Know Your Garden Neighbors
Community gardening plants you in the neighborhood outside of your home more often and longer than you might usually be. In many neighborhoods people are often on the go. Gardening slows you down. People are curious which means neighbors will strike up a conversation about what you’re growing. Barbecues in the garden, garden parties, garden exercise, garden art, and other social gatherings can be arranged to in the garden which means not just fellow gardeners but all sorts of neighbors may engage in garden chatter.
9. You Keep Up With A Garden Schedule
In a community garden an effective plan to keep up with the garden schedule has to be established. You have to follow the weather, learn the best planting dates for your area, and know the best plants for your zones. Community gardening allows you to keep to the schedule even when the issues of life arise.
Your fellow gardeners keep gardening
When a new baby arrives, no problem…Hospitalization, no problem…Missed water day, no problem…in a community garden there is always someone to take your place or fill in when you can’t. In the end, you all reap the benefits of working together as a team!
