RE: Re: Starting Local Community Garden

H* A*

Darshell:

First check out the American Community Gardening Association ( ACGA) and
the Trust for Public Land (TPL) websites. Both organizations have a great
deal of useful information on community gardening and may have links and/or
contacts about community gardens and organizations in your area. 

Talk to your neighbors about whether they think a community garden is a
something they'd be willing to support as gardeners, monetarily or as an
amenity they would push their local elected officials to support. Be sure
that folks withing a five block area really want a community garden to
happen or you'll have a sore back!

Check you municipality's rules on composting, whether you can get a source
of water, etc.. Make friends with your garden site's neighbors, especially
if you want to keep a beehive! ( Check your municipality's rules on bee
keeping.) 

If you have the land, the gardeners and neighbors who are willing to
tolerate you in your pursuit, email me again. As a community gardener for 20
years in NYC, our crew has made our share of mistakes, the lions share of
which can be avoided. Remember, in an urban area with so many competing uses
for land, community gardening is 50% gardening and 100% political. Make sure
that you get a genuine consensus from your community before you start and do
everything you can to keep your garden inclusive and fun.

Community gardening is extremely fulfilling but can break your heart if you
don't pay attention to  the community first. It's always people before
plants.

Good luck!

Adam

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Darshell Silva [SMTP:dsilva@rifoodbank.org]
> Sent:	Wednesday, January 19, 2000 7:30 AM
> To:	community_garden@mallorn.com
> Subject:	[cg] Re: Starting Local Community Garden
> 
> My name is Darshell Silva.  I am the Agency Outreach Coordinator for the
> RI
> Community Food Bank.  A group I work with is looking into starting a
> community garden and has no idea where to begin.  The garden would be a
> vegetable garden with produce going to community residents.  Please send
> any
> information available or just some where/how to start information.  Thanks
> for the help.  Darshell  Silva    dsilva@rifoodbank.org
> 
> 
> 
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