A Community Garden Tour

We've had at least one plot in our community garden now for five years.  It's an ongoing learning process that we've really enjoyed.  We actually gardened for another five years in a few other friend's spaces so using a plot here was a natural move for us especially seeing as this garden is only five minutes from our house. (The other gardens were each about 30-40 minutes away.)

Since I've not shown any photos of this garden at all yet in my blog, I thought it would be a great time to give you a very quick tour of what a community garden looks like.  I wrote about the pros and cons of a community garden here and I'm really happy with this shared garden space.  

Our garden is behind a large church and was initiated by a Master Gardener as a community project. She's done an excellent job in organizing and coordinating a very large garden space into one in which countless gardeners can enjoy a large enough plot to feed a family of four (at least!)  She now has raised up other volunteers to help organize this large area.  All the garden spaces were taken this year...it's great to know that people are so interested in gardening in suburbia.

We have a lot of freedom in this garden space.  We can put up fences (there are deer who like to browse) if we want and can plant perennials such as strawberries and asparagus as well as annual plants.  This is because we own the plots year round.  We only need to confirm our garden space every year.  We had two plots one year but found out that it was way more than we could manage.   We are back to one and this fits our needs perfectly.

Our plot is right next to the road and water.

We like to plant vegetables which seem suited to this garden's location.  

We've figured out what grows well and what doesn't.  Since we garden naturally, this is a great way to garden without pesticides.

We plant primarily squash...specifically summer and winter varieties.  We love them and grow several different kinds.  Yes, I am afraid I am guilty of over-planting and crowding them again this year; but planting them late and in a rush didn't help me either.

We also planted a smattering of heirloom beans, kohlrabi, poblano peppers, a tomato plant and carrots this year.  However, the beans have refused to germinate with all the rain we've had and we now have only a handful of them.  I have already replanted with a variety called "Masai" which take only 47 days to produce.  We'll see if these beans decide to come up with this spell of hot weather we're having right now.

Garden in June

The perks we have at this garden are pretty amazing.  We have access to lawn mowers, rototillers, free water, free mulch/manure and a compost bin.  All the mulch you see around our garden is courtesy of a donation from a garden member.  Wheelbarrows and other miscellaneous garden tools are also available to use.

We actually had fellow garden friends place manure on our plot as well as rototill for us - gardeners are really generous people.  It's no wonder when you consider how rewarding a garden can be.

Our Giant Compost Bin

  
This fenced compost area is for garden weeds and waste.  Anyone is welcome to use the soil as needed.  It's not a maintained compost area, so there can be weed seeds in the soil, but the idea of composting is being shared and I really like this.

We have a water tank right by our garden...perfect.

  

Other garden members donated food grade tanks and pumps in order to bring in water from a run-off stream nearby.  This is a huge perk!  Our first few years here we had to hand haul water from this little creek, bring it in ourselves or go to a small weedy pond in the back.  This has been a lifesaver.

Garden in early July

Well, there you have it.  Lots of plots, lots of ideas and lots of great gardening.  It is an extra effort to garden away from your own space...but well managed community gardens make it an excellent experience.  Plus, I love being around other gardeners too.

Do you garden in a community space or have you visited one? 

Blessings!

Linked to these blog parties...Wildcrafting Wednesday
Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways 
From the Farm Blog Hop 
Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop 
Homestead Barn Hop