Community Gardens bring people together, builds
relationships, improves quality of life and activates communities through its
bounty, exercise, therapy, education, family budget augmentation, social
interaction and neighborhood beautification. A community garden can be used for
food, ornamental gardening, urban forestry, preservation and management of open
space, memorial gardening and any other types of gardening that a community
collectively values. But much goes into
creating one especially if it’s an urban garden.
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For any community making a garden takes forethought and
organization. This includes:
·
Organizing the group of interested people
·
Identify the community’s resources necessary for
the garden’s success including local garden associations, horticultural
societies, landscaping professionals, etc.
·
Identify and secure a location
·
Secure a sponsor
·
Test the soil on the site for pollutants, and
check for of water availability
·
Determine if liability insurance will be
necessary
·
Prepare and develop the site
·
Organize the garden so as to establish necessary
plots to satisfy the mission of the garden
·
Plan an area for children
·
Determine rules and put them into writing
·
Setup a communication network to maintain
contact amongst members and interested community resources
· Celebrate often!
With these valuable tips in hand, Sally Brown,
Associate Professor at the University of Washington offers additional
considerations when dealing with urban soils for those wishing to start up a
garden in a city. Brown notes that soils are more often contaminated in the
urban setting and most commonly with lead. But there are other potential contaminants
too resulting from what may have once been on the site such as old cars or
buildings that housed unknown chemicals and substances.
Further, healthy soils must not be compacted and must
contain at least 5% organic matter to improve soil structure. Increasing the
amount of compost and biosolids within the soil will enable it to hold more
water and provide the necessary nutrients for crops. Soil replacement is not
always required ad the addition of compost will help decrease contaminants in
the soil. Contaminants are diluted out with the addition of the compost mixed into
the soil. Some contaminants, such as lead, often become less hazardous when
compost is added. Brown explains, “Compost can change the form of the lead in
soil so that if you actually do ingest the soil, the amount of lead that’s
available to do harm is reduced.”
Read more at the American Community Gardening
Association and the American Society of
Agronomy.
Community
Gardening photo via Shutterstock.
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