By Cindy Naas

Recently I was invited to help create a large community garden on the campus of the Sabes JCC in the Minneapolis area.

I’m going to blog about each step of the process.

My hope is that some of you will use this information to go out into your own communities and create urban gardens which will benefit so many people.

History

This is the third year for some sort of garden at the JCC. The first garden was built with grant money. They had a large greenhouse, an outdoor garden and even staff to oversee the building and tending of the garden. Year 2 saw the grant money dry up, and with not enough workers the garden didn’t do well. This year the garden will be done on a shoestring budget, but my hope is to not only plan a large productive vegetable garden but to make it a sustainable project as well.

Planning

One of the ideas suggested for Read the rest of this entry »

Michael Nolan

As gardeners we are used to putting our hands in the dirt.

Whether we are tilling up part of our suburban yards or stocking up on containers for this year’s urban garden on the patio, we understand the feeling of calm that comes with nurturing a seed and the sense of accomplishment that comes from seeing that seed bear fruit.

When I moved from Birmingham, Alabama into a neighborhood in suburban Atlanta last month I joined a community in transition.

When I began working on the process of starting the first community garden here I began to realize that transition was being mirrored in me.

And so it goes that along with the help of the Atlanta Community Food Bank and a few willing volunteers, we will soon break ground on the Read the rest of this entry »

By Reggie Solomon

• Seattle, Washington may be known for its coffee scene, but Shibaguyz prove you can garden in the city no matter how small your backyard and get beautiful results.

• A Detroit Michigan gardener at Georgia Street Community Garden discovers a city ordinance that actually forbids community gardens. Yikes!

• David Pescovitz at Boing Boing discovers an urban garden in the unlikeliest place, under a New York City sidewalk grate.  That’s gorilla gardening indeed!

• Eco urbanists at LJ Urban aspire to turn vacant city lots into urban garden oasis.

By Cindy Naas

When my children were very small I was determined to get them involved in growing vegetables and in being close to the earth even though we live in a city.

I grew up on a farm and learned to garden with my dad and wanted to pass that on to my sons.

However, when I began gardening with them I quickly discovered that many neighbors had never even grown a pot of tomatoes on a balcony, much less had an entire vegetable garden to tend and enjoy.

That made me think about not only how cut off most people are from the land but how isolated many people are in a city. Most of us don’t know Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

One easy way that urban dwellers can participate in gardening is through a community garden.

In a community garden, a group of people share plots in one common piece of land.

This is a great way for those with no space to still enjoy the wonders of gardening. You can look at the American Community Garden Association’s website, to see if there is one near you.

If there is not one nearby, you could consider starting your own. There are several steps involved in starting a community garden.

1. Planning: As with any project, you must first Read the rest of this entry »