Re: Garden Paths & Irrigation

**A*@aol.com**

Connie,

Jim's suggestions are all very useful and valid. My only additions are:

 1) You should also look at the ACGA website for technical issues:  <A 
HREF="http://www.communitygarden.org/";>American Community Gardening 
Association</A>  and in specific  <A 
HREF="http://www.communitygarden.org/links/index.html#seniors";>Gardening With 
Seniors and the Disabled</A>  .  The Chicago Botanic Garden has an 
extraordinary model "Enabled Garden" that I look forward to seeing again 
during the ACGA convention:    <A 
HREF="http://www.chicago-botanic.org/HortTherapyatGarden.html";>Chicago 
Botanic Garden - Horticultural Therapy at the Garden</A>  . 

2) For gardens where folks will be coming and going to work, I would suggest 
laying out some garden guidelines on how to safely work in the garden and 
cover your operation's liablilty issues.  The devil always lies in the 
details - it will be important to find out where the volunteer corporation's 
insurance and  worker's compensation program ends and where your garden 
insurance ends.  I'd suggest that you get some coverage fast, or have 
discussions on how this program put under the corporation's liablity umbrella 
once you have laid out your design and operating procedures.  Without getting 
hot an heavy about this, when discussing this with your corporate liasons, 
say, " We're really grateful for everything that you're doing with us on this 
project.  But this just came in my mind, and you might want to run this by 
your HR/benefits and legal people - who covers one of your employees if he 
steps on a rake or puts out her back? Whatever we plan, we want to be covered 
before the season starts." 

3) Again, for garden rules and guidelines, you may want to go back to the 
ACGA website    <A HREF="http://www.communitygarden.org/";>American Community 
Gardening Association</A> and click on the links to garden programs and 
individual gardens all over the country.  Many have posted policies that you 
can use in creating your own. Here is a link to the garden where I volunteer 
- please fee to copy anything you like from our guidelines -  <A 
HREF="http://www.clintoncommunitygarden.org/";>Clinton Community Garden</A>  

5) For irrigation, I like a piped in water system with spiggots and hoses 
placed at convenient distances from all beds. There would be a central turn 
off for the water.

6) The tool shed should have places laid out for all tools - if you have 
someone to paint the shapes of the tools for where they go (like Junior High 
shop classes) even better. 

7) A suggestion on using corporate volunteers from one who has had corporate 
charitable initiatives dropped on his desk with a post it from the CEO that 
say "Please make this happen.  Best wishes, Mr. Wielder of Thunderbolts."  
Become best buds with your contact person and buy him or her lunch to talk 
over details as the project gets closer to date.  It is most likely that the 
effectiveness of the project and feedback from project participants to 
corporate HR will be important career-wise to the participant.  And usually 
they give  "making this happen" to very busy people.  Work hard on this 
relationship.

8. Plan a harvest festival and thank you party funded by your organization ( 
budget for it out of your basic grant.)  

9) Also, it might be an impetus to your volunteers, especially those 
employees ones may feel that getting their tickets punched by particpating in 
our program will help them keep their jobs in the current economic climate - 
please have a few beds set aside for volunteers to harvest some tomatoes, 
herbs or whatever for home and even set up a cutting garden. This does two 
things.  When a volunteer comes home with a small basket of garden grown 
tomatoes, herbs or a bouquet of flowers, it creates interest and perhaps even 
a love for what a community garden can do.

Best wishes,
Adam Honigman 

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