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I think I may have mentioned awhile back that I missed out on planting a garden at my home because I moved right during the prime planting time. Well, I was pretty bummed about this but I ended up finding a great way to plant my veggies and eat them too. 
Some friends and I ended up starting a community garden. Four families all congregated at one member’s home and dug up a large portion of their backyard (they have a couple acres) and we worked for several days planting our dream garden.
On the list of things we planted were onions, 4 different radish plants, turnips, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, carrots, 6 different bean plants, cucumbers, zucchini, bell peppers, hot peppers, herbs, and 6 different tomatoes. I am sure there is more that I am forgetting. We put
newspaper and/or straw down between the rows to keep weeds at bay and keep the ground moist. The garden is looking incredible!
After only a few weeks we harvested some peppers, daikon radishes, and zucchini. One zucchini was HUGE. And of course everything tasted delicious. It cannot get fresher than this…picking it in the afternoon and eating it up in the evening.
This has also been a great experience for my kids to work with other people and build a sense of community and of course share the excitement with them too. It makes me want to start a community garden on a larger scale. According to the American Community Garden Association “community gardening improves the quality of life for people by providing a catalyst for neighborhood and community development, stimulating social interaction, encouraging self-reliance, beautifying neighborhoods, producing nutritious food, reducing family food budgets, conserving resources and creating opportunities for recreation, exercise, therapy and education.”
I can see this in action on a small scale already. To see it on a grander scale would be a true blessing.
Technorati Tags: community garden, gardening, planting, veggies, eating
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Felicia said,
July 3, 2007 at 10:01 am:
What a wonderful experience. And your garden looks beautiful! I had a plot at the community garden in my old downtown neighborhood. But I moved six months ago and am sitting out this year’s gardening in order to see what and where things come up in the yard
Tiffany said,
July 3, 2007 at 10:25 am:
Thanks for stopping by. I followed the link to your blog and bought one of your recycled “creatures”. They are so cute! Take care!
Carrie said,
July 3, 2007 at 4:45 pm:
Oh I am so jealous! I would love to do this. I read an article in Real Simple about some neighbors who lived in rowhouses with teeny tiny little backyards who did the same thing. What a neat idea.
Tiffany said,
July 3, 2007 at 5:14 pm:
Well, that is the great thing about community gardens. They are actually pretty easy to start if you have the commitment and desire AND friends that want to be involved.
I always thought about starting one but for some reason never took it farther than that.
Gift of Green said,
July 3, 2007 at 10:56 pm:
WOW!! That zucchini is scaring me!!!
Natural Family Living Blog » Blog Archive » Local Eats This Week said,
July 11, 2007 at 10:03 pm:
[...] shortly after my trip to the market I stopped by the community garden and picked several bags worth of sugar snap peas, snow peas, yellow wax beans, turnips, hot [...]
Shannon said,
July 31, 2007 at 12:22 am:
Oh my gosh, my friend in Russia was talking abou ther community garden, and I was totally jealous, but didn’t realize people were doing it here in America! Oh, I wish I had friends that would do this with me- I’d be willing to donate my back yard!
The 15 Best Frugal Gardening Tips | Natural Family Living Blog said,
March 26, 2008 at 3:59 pm:
[...] grown seedlings so growing your own will save you some green. Local seed exchange programs and community gardens might also provide you with free [...]