On 9/28/2014 4:53 PM, David E. Ross wrote:
On 9/28/2014 1:38 PM, Hypatia Nachshon wrote:
Wondering if others have something like the following in their
communities:
Allow would-be gardeners who live in apartments or otherwise have no
ground, to grow crops in your garden in exchange for ? a share of
produce? other consideration? Of course taking care to know who they
are and make entry arrangements.
ISTR there used to be something like that here; I'm trying to track
it down, and if I don't find, start something.
I'm increasingly dubious about veg gardening, both because of water
co$t probably increasing with CA drought, and because we don't really
consume enough to bother. We have 4 farmers' markets in town, plus a
Co-Op, plus Whole Foods (the latter of which I don't patronize), so
even though organic is more expensive -- hey, you only go around
once.
It's a big life transition after [censored] years of home veg/fruit
gardening! I can remember standing at the corn patch, chewing the
kernels off the cob w/o even cooking!!! Ditto tomatoes right off the
vine. And divine little fraises du bois hiding under their foliage.
And crisp snow peas...(pause to wipe mouth)...
But the good years seem, if memory serves, to have been not as
frequent as the less good
Sigh!
HB
Where I live (Oak Park, California), about half the dwellings are either
apartments or townhomes (similar to condominiums but owning the land
directly under the home). Our local recreation and park district (an
independent government agency with a board elected by the voters) owned
a parcel of land too small for making a park. A non-profit organization
contracted with the district to create a community garden on the site.
The district and the non-profit share the cost of water. The district
fenced the property, and the non-profit planted shrubs to hide the
chain-link fencing. The non-profit paid to have a used cargo container
brought onto the site for storing garden tools and then bought the tools.
To get a 10x20 foot garden plot in a 1-foot raised bed, a person needs
to joint the Oak Park Gardeners (a committee of the non-profit). The
Gardeners charge an annual dues to defray the cost of replacing tools,
having trash collection, and its share of the water bill. A person does
not have to be a resident of Oak Park, but Oak Park residents have
priority for being assigned a garden plot when there is a waiting list.
The rules for this community garden require that only organic gardening
practices be followed since the site drains towards a natural park and
its creek. Gardeners must also maintain their plots, clearing them when
annual plants die and removing weeds. Certain invasive plants (e.g.,
mint) are prohibited.
While most of the plots are used for vegetables, there are some
ornamentals. Gardeners are not allowed to "poach" from plots not their
own, but they are allowed to share as much as they want.
The surrounding fence has two gates with combination locks to protect
against human thieves; but squirrels, mice, rats, rabbits, raccoons, and
possums are quite adept at getting through the fence. I don't know how
successful the Gardeners have been with their owl box in getting owls to
nest in the garden and control those varmints.
Community gardens are quite common throughout the U.S., England, and
elsewhere.
We've had various problems with critters stealing produce from our
garden. Last year I grew a 3 sisters 4'x 8' garden with corn, and we
didn't get one ear of corn due to "something" eating every bit of it.
This year we put in new raised beds, replacing the old ones that were
falling apart, and I finished up putting down outdoor carpet to keep the
weeds to a minimum.
Here are some photos in case you're interested:
http://s991.photobucket.com/user/jen...%202014?sort=3
We have chickens, too, and use all of their poop for fertilizer. It's
all organically grown.
--
Jenn