On Sunday, September 28, 2014 2:53:49 PM UTC-7, 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

Yes, we have long had here (Santa Monica CA - just over the mountain from David Ross)
such community gardens. One drawback, in the days of leaded gas, was that the community garden was wedged between two busy streets. Thank goodness that is a thing of the past!

My objective is to find reliable people to make their garden in my back yard.

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.



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