RE: Ideas for a Community Garden Wishlist

H* A*

Sharon,

The operative word is community -  the community of gardeners that are
starting this thing should decide on what they would like to see happen,
what they are willing to commit to maintaining. 

Me, if money and land were no object, I'd  love to move  the Royal Botanical
Gardens, Kew http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ , to Hell's Kitchen,  but somebody
else might like something different. 

First: Absolutely necessary...a sturdy gate and enough keys for gardeners.
If I had enough money, I'd opt for cast iron ( $50,000 and up in the real
world - we got ours when they were cheaper from the Astor foundation, Mrs.
Vincent Astor thought that hurricane was kind of tacky. Who were we to say
no?)

Second: Piped in water with plenty of convenient spiggots for all gardeners.
A flushable toilet ( remember, price is no object) and wash sinks would be
sublime. Electricity? Why not if there is a way  to run it in and budget for
it.  

Third, the land should be held in trust in perpetuity as a community garden
by a land trust that  requires that the gardeners maintain good relations
with the community, regular open hours during the season, democratic
governance and maintain fiscal solvency through fundraising. Gardening in a
community garden is a privilege, not a right - accountablility is key.

Fourth, there should be some master gardeners around & someone who has some
ideas about garden architecture ( we lucked out at the Clinton Community
Garden, having some talented people volunteer their time over the history of
the place)  http://www.clintoncommunitygarden.org . Maybe some garden trips
to local botanic gardens might be part of this process, so people could see
some doables. Compost system should be the best, with folks trained by
experts to do it right.

Fifth: tool shed and lean to with a lockable areas for expensive or
dangerous tools ( like a chipper-shredder for the compost) Build this on a
concrete slab ( pour your own)  to discourage insect/rodent infestation,
help to keep it dry. Paint pictures of tools on the walls ( like in shop
class) to encourage people to return their tools to the right places. Budget
for lost and stolen tools.

Sixth: Enabled gardening beds for seniors and the flexibility "challenged" .
See today's messages for ideas.

Seventh: A greenhouse and cold frames for starting seeds and plants ( this
is a very expensive line item - but hey, a wishlist is a wishlist.) 

Eighth:  Full time/part time seasonal garden coordinator/master gardener. 

Ninth: Events should be what the neighborhood wants, there are some samples
on the CCG website: http://www.clintoncommunitygarden.org . 

Tenth: A winning lotto ticket to help pay for this all.

Adam Honigman
Tel: (212) 414-8933
Fax: (212) 229-3421

-----Original Message-----
From: Sharon Gordon [g*@one.net]
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2001 9:49 AM
To: community_garden@mallorn.com
Subject: [cg] Ideas for a Community Garden Wishlist

If you had a good sized chunk of land and money were no object, what
would you like to see in a community garden in terms of

landscaping
location
structures
plot size
soil care and improvement
education
activities
???

Sharon
gordonse@one.net

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