Yesterday, quite by accident, The Girl and I happened upon the Wilkinson Farm Community Garden. We were out on a long walk and as the community garden came into view we decided to walk a little out of our way to take a closer look.
In addition to renting out raised garden beds to community members, there is also space allocated to grow food solely for the local food bank {how cool is that?}. We spotted fruit trees, rows of corn, potatoes, squash and just about every other sort of vegetable growing. There tons of flowers as well {something you don’t often see in community gardens as most peeps want to grow vegetables}.
When the community garden first opened in 2009 we had a plot there for one season. It was fun to walk through the gardens again after 7 years and see how different everything looks. Now there is an outdoor sink to wash your vegetables, compost bins, cold frames and oodles of garden tools for lending.
The space is PERFECT for those who don’t have the space to grow vegetables in their own backyard or who want to join a community garden for the social aspects.
Does your city have a community garden? If they did, would you join if you didn’t have the space to grow your own vegetables at your own home? I love the idea and if I didn’t have a garden of my own I think would try and secure a plot or two.
Growing food is cool. 😉
~Mavis
Linda says
I joined a community garden last year and enjoyed it. It is a lot of work, and any extras we donated to the local food bank. I became discouraged, however, when much of my produce was stolen. I came early one morning and watched as a lady meandered from garden to garden, filling up her bag. I hope she needed it more than the people at the food bank, for that was who she stole from. So sad. This year I am back to gardening my own back yard, but I still miss the community.
Donna in VA says
I RENT a garden plot from the county. Fortunately about 1 mile from my house. My yard became too shady as the trees matured to grow anything at home. Since it is convenient I am there several times a week. I only grow a few zinnias because the annual rent cost means I want to grow as much edible produce as possible. I am pleased with how it is working out so far. The community aspect can be fun, but most of the time I am working there alone. There is limited water supply so I make a point to go during the less busy times to get access to the faucets.
Jenny says
We do not have community gardens in our area of Wisconsin but everyone here has green space. Even most apartment buildings have spaces for people to have a little garden. It is not uncommon to see gardens in the front of houses because that is where the sun is. The only rules are the weeds have to be pulled in a garden space. We do have a garden club that takes care of the flowers in the parks in town. There is also a city compost pile. People are free to drop off or take from it during daylight hours.
Kathy says
I think they are a great idea. Would love to see any vacant lot planted with green veggies and flowers.
I participated in a community garden when I lived in an apartment in an upscale community years ago. After toiling for months, getting everything just perfect, no weed in sight, I was raked over the coals for planting . . . . . . mint, a very small 4″ plant to use for ice tea.
Another issue I had forgotten about was strawberry theft. Now that I think about it, I’d much rather have my little vegetable garden in my own backyard.
Tracy says
What a fantastic community garden. I so love this idea. And growing food for the local food bank is genius. Genius! The sink is brilliant, too. Very impressive and I wish more communities would dedicate public land for this purpose, as they do all over the UK.
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
I garden in a community garden. Without a backyard, it’s the only way I am able to have a garden living in an urban city. While there are ups and downs to gardening in a community garden, overall I have had a really wonderful experience. In fact, I just at delicious broccoli and zucchini that I picked a few hours ago from my garden. Mmmm!
I just want to note to folks who will comment that they don’t have a community garden near them (because friends tell me this all the time)… Do a quick Google search just to be sure. You’d be surprised how many times a friend tells me one doesn’t exist in their area and I contact my best boyfriend Google and what do you know…there is in fact one (or many) near them! They are just often times sort of off the radar and out of the way. But more exist than people realize! I promise…community gardens are all over the place these days!
KK @preppycrocodile