This is all paradise,
A little garden, This is all
paradise for us, The most beautiful thing In the world.
(Rosa Garcia,
Lower East Side, Manhattan)
You should have seen this block before we started our garden 17 years ago.
Bad things were happening every day.
We're still not a model block, but some of the same people that caused problems now help us with the big jobs in the garden.
By helping to build the garden they help rebuild their own lives.
(Olean For, Manhattan)
The garden really touches the child in people.
It brings out when the days were good for them, when life was easy and simple.
It makes them feel good when they're hurting to remember the good times.
It brings back all the memories.
(Classie Parker, Harlem, Manhattan)
What we do here in the garden, we try to put one of the older ones with the younger ones.
One, to show them how to do it.
Two, to keep them out of trouble.
Three, it helps them to learn.
(Classie Parker, Harlem, Manhattan)
It takes a long time to build a garden. And a lot of hard
work.
Everybody in the neighborhood talks about this garden.
People
come by stopping in their cars just to look at this garden. And it makes us feel
good, asking us questions about it.
How you get it? How you start it? That's the truth.
I'm telling you, it's something.
We feel so proud of our garden.
(Cynthia Davis, Brooklyn)
We grew some beautiful
vegetables out here.
But the best thing is, we cleaned up the lot.
(Clarence White, Brooklyn)
The garden has affected the community in attitude.
People are more friendly, and once they see you doing it, they want to join in.
It doesn't become work anymore, it becomes fun, and that's the whole new development.
Once it becomes fun, then here comes the competition.
I could do it better than you. You can't do it better than me.
And that boosts the ego.
And the children,
as they boost,
as they grow,
so
does the garden.
(Classie Parker, Harlem, Manhattan)
A lady came by the other day and she said:
'I must tell you, you all must be doing something right because your garden looks so pretty and green and is not dry.'
She said, 'You guys must be doing this with love.'
I said it's a lotta love out here.
(Esther Solomon, Brooklyn)
When you go
in the garden
to work,
You forget
everything.
You forget about your problems,
Watch the plants
grow,
Watch the cherry on the tree,
Watch the apple grow, and
How much
you can give people
and
What you're gonna do with it.
That's what it's all about.
(Otis Butler, The Bronx)
These children were used to seeing a world made out of cement and piles of garbage.
We have taught them that through cooperation, work, team effort and love, they have nurtured growing vegetables that have become part of the dinner served.
The children seem to be friendlier and kinder in the atmosphere of Mother Nature.
(Benjamin Suarez, The Bronx)
Children,
from working in here,and even from passing
by here, from having it here even if they don't work in it, gives them a sense
of identity and ownership.
They feel they own this garden.
This is their garden.
And their spirits are all living in this garden.
(Jennifer Cone, Brooklyn)
I realized that my kids couldn't dig, they didn't know what plants were, and my kids were also physically violent.
When we were in the garden, they couldn't be violent in the garden because they had to be careful in the garden.
Something died in the garden, we had to plant it again, so they started to learn to respect life, in the garden.
(Mary Sciales, Special Ed. Teacher, Brooklyn)
My father taught me to garden.
And what I do in the garden mostly is come and water it, and work a lot!
And sometimes he asks me to pull up the weeds,
I pull up some weeds, then I just wait and wait until he tells me to do something else.
I grow sunflower seeds, zinnias, tomatoes, and collards, and cotton, and that's all I got in the garden!
Oh and marigolds - and lettuce.
(Shaheed Talib, age 10,
The Bronx)
It helps other people
In the block.
When they need something,
We give them a hand.
We give them some Tomatoes, or cabbage, or
Some
collard greens, or Corn on the cob,
So they can have something
To eat for that night
Until they can get some Money to buy some food
For
their house.
(James Crews, Age 13, East Harlem, Manhattan)
This was a terrible lot, we fixed it up, gave it life.
We got rid of the cars burning, people doing drugs, sleeping in the cars ...got the city to come and help clean it out, put up a fence so we could start doing something here.
We started raking out the weeds, got people from the neighborhood to help, and we started making these boxes from GreenThumb.
We got the Special Ed kids involved and as you can see, it's looking pretty good.
(Guillermo Gonzalez, Brooklyn)
STARTING A COMMUNITY GARDEN
The best gardening teachers
are gardeners themselves. Many people in inner-city areas have come from other
areas where they had farming or gardening as part of their heritage. Look for
these people to be part of the core group of initiators when starting a
community garden.
Any group of people can create a community garden. Senior groups, youth groups, women's and men's clubs, civic associations, or just an informal group of friends, neighbors or relatives.
I have been telling the people that if they organize the group,
I'm willing to help them a hundred percent
because I want to see a community,
a clean community,
a better community.
And beside that, the people that live in there,
they're poor people, they plant their own vegetables and they save money.
And that's very important.
To me, that's very important.
(Antonia Diaz, The Bronx)
• Organize a meeting of interested people. Canvas the neighborhood, post notices about your meeting.
• Community gardens provide opportunities to learn about the democratic process and leadership. When you have formed your group, LISTEN to what people's interests and gifts are. SHARE knowledge.
• Elect representatives. Choose a well-organized garden coordinator.
• Form committees to accomplish tasks:
- Funding & Resource Development;
- Youth Activities;
- Construction of beds, fences;
- Communication;
- Community liaison.
• Decide whether there are conditions for membership, such as neighborhood residency, or dues.
• What activities will the group do cooperatively? (such as turning soil in spring, planting cover crops, or composting).
• Will there be a children's plot?
• Decide how often the gardeners will meet. It is beneficial to have once a week meetings starting in the early spring and throughout the planting season. Harvest festivals are wonderful events in which to include all members of the garden and the community.
• Equipment can be shared and stored in a locked shed.
• Some garden groups create a set of written rules which gardeners are expected to uphold. Each garden is unique to the participating members. Each group can decide the best way to govern their garden.
• Decide how you will use the space: vegetable/flower/herb garden, a park; a combination?
• Approach sponsors. Contributions of a site, tools, seeds, fencing, or soil improvements are all vital to a successful community garden. Community Development Block Grants are sometimes available through your municipality (as in the case of NYC).
• Decide on a mailing address and central phone number(s).
• Create a name for the garden.
• Choose a site. Make sure the space gets at least 6 full hours of sunlight daily.
• Identify the owner of the land. Is it public or private land? How long a lease can you obtain? What is the time frame? Try to get a lease agreement which allows the space to be used at least for three years.
• Consider availability of water.
• Liability insurance is something you need to consider. Deals can be made with insurance companies and municipalities so that the premiums are not prohibitive.
• USE PLASTIC WADING POOLS AS INSTANT SOIL CONTAINERS. They're cheap, long-lasting and you don't have to worry about 'brownfields' or previous contamination. With wading pools, you can garden on a roof top, a parking lot, in driveways or on patios. Oak barrels, and woven plastic feed sacks are also viable alternatives to planting directly in the earth.
• When planting in wading pools, "The yield in pounds per acre far exceeds that of the national average on farms," says Job Ebenezer, Director of Environmental Stewardship and Hunger Education for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chicago." At the church's rooftop garden, gardeners harvested 984 pounds of vegetables from a dozen or so pools in an area measuring 1,625 square feet. One pool alone yielded an average of 22.5 pounds of tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, zucchini and a variety of greens." (Please see instructions on planting in wading pools).
• If you are using an open field or derelict city lot, CONSIDER PAST USES of the land. Is there any contamination?
• Do a soil test in the fall for nutrients & heavy metals.
• Enlist the city if there are gross items that need removing. Usually the first endeavor entails cleaning up the site.
• Divide duties. Honor people who have special needs. Find out what peoples' gifts are, what gardening activities they enjoy doing most; composting, building beds, planting, administration. The garden is a place that can foster everyone's diverse abilities.
• Read what you can about planting.
• Search the Internet for other groups in your area that can share their experiences with you.
PREPARING AND DEVELOPING THE SITE
• Organize volunteer work crews.
• Clean the site. Wear protective gloves and dust masks.
• Develop the design. Think about where walking paths will be and what they will be made of (e.g. recycled brick, stone, wood chips); where to create a shady gathering place and sitting area with benches; where the compost pile(s) will be located; the tool shed; access to water and hoses.
• Begin to order materials. Cities usually have zoos, and can provide natural fertilizers. Often, plant suppliers or lumber yards will donate materials.
• Glove manufacturers are quite willing to provide gloves to schools or educational groups that are involved in starting gardens.
• Many seed companies will donate free seeds to community groups who have gardens. It just takes a little sleuthing to find free sources of supplies for your gardens.
Note: DO NOT USE PRESSURE TREATED LUMBER FOR YOUR GARDEN BEDS. The chemicals used in this process leach into the soil (arsenic and other toxins).
• Decide on plot sizes. The garden can be organized into same-size plots or an eclectic arrangement of planting areas (wood-framed raised beds, wading pools, rows, oak barrels, sacks, tires). The plots can be grouped by families or individuals. Mark plots clearly with gardeners' names.
• With regular work, community vegetable gardens typically produce about 500 servings per year in an average 40' by 5' raised bed. As proven by the wading pool gardens, it is possible to produce twice this.
• Most beds need about 90 minutes of maintenance per week, about 6 hours for planting, four times a year, and one hour per week of picking, depending on climate and weather conditions.
• Include plans for a locked storage area for tools and other equipment.
• Decide if composting is feasible, and if so, where the compost bin will be located.
• Have a rain proof bulletin board for announcing garden events and messages. DISPLAY public hours.
• Design the garden to be a social space to host a variety of community events: barbecues, poetry readings, songfests, concerts, plays, meetings.
• Most community gardens are organic (no pesticides, no chemical fertilizers). The decision to grow organically should be discussed with your group.
• Lay out the garden to place flower or shrub beds around the visible perimeter. This helps to promote good will with the community.
• Be on your community board mailing list.
• Build networks with other gardeners.
• Know your elected leaders and invite them to garden events.
• Get to know the people of the citywide greening groups. They have a wealth of knowledge to share.
• Use the Internet to post notices about your garden's activities.
THE IMPORTANCE OF
HAVING A
CHILDREN'S GARDEN
• Gardens are a uniquely positive forum for educating children and instilling extremely worthwhile values.
• Gardeners teach children about the science of growing things and provide guidance and positive role models.
• Children included in the garden process become champions of the cause.
• Consider approaching local public schools to participation your garden, or local scout troops, day cares, foster grandparent programs, church groups, etc.
PROTECTING THE GARDEN
• The fear of vandalism in community gardens tends to be much greater than the actual incidence. Try these proven methods to deter crime and maintain a safe haven.
• Create a shady meeting area in the garden, and encourage people to use it. Keep your garden neat, friendly, well-peopled.
• Make a sign for the garden. Let the community know to whom the garden belongs and that it is a neighborhood project.
• Fences can be of almost any material. They serve as much to mark possession of a property as to prevent entry.
• Don't exclude people. Welcome everyone in the community to participate.
• Harvest all ripe fruit and vegetables on a daily basis. Ripe, red tomatoes falling from the vines solicit trouble.
• Place an OPEN BIN filled with produce in an accessible area of your garden. SHARE the bounty with the community.
• A well-organized garden with strong leadership and committed members can overcome almost any obstacle.
• Form an alliance with municipal authorities, local politicians, potential sponsors and neighbors.
• Involve the neighborhood children. Their presence will help protect the garden.
THE BENEFITS OF COMMUNITY GARDENS:
Food
Security, Neighborhood Rehabilitation, Individual Empowerment
Community gardens offer a unique forum for demonstrating ethnic pride while building respect, tolerance, cooperation and cross-cultural ties.
My garden means being able
To work with people...
Short ones,
Tall ones, fat, skinny
And in-between...
Moods?
You name it, we got it!
My garden changed me
From a country farmer
Into a good city farmer.
(Georgia Horton, Brooklyn)
Community gardens make an important contribution to the fight against hunger.
The gardens contribute to the health of Senior Citizens by providing them with an opportunity to make an important contribution to the community, as well as participation in an excellent form of physical exercise.
Tilling the garden has changed the life of many of my elderly neighbors
who otherwise would have idle hands as well as minds.
The garden has given them
time and a purpose to venture out
of their lonely homes.
(Martha Hinton, The Bronx)
• Community gardening costs city government almost nothing, improves the appearance of neighborhoods, adds value to surrounding housing, brings people together, and reduces crime.
• The gardens provide opportunities for cross - generational activities -- places to share knowledge about cultural roots and heritage. As the plants and vegetables and fruits in gardens represent diversity, so the people who participate in community gardens bring diversity together.
• Community gardens contribute to community well-being:
- By making it possible to SHARE the produce with people in need.
- By providing a place to inspire gardening and wise land use.
- By teaching environmental stewardship.
• Delivery of donated food to the indigent and home-bound can be shared amongst garden members. Many NYC gardens provide open bins filled with produce, available for free, to the community.
• Community gardens demonstrate how to have the best tasting varieties of really fresh pesticide-free produce.
• Community gardens positively address inner-city concerns about crime and juvenile delinquency.
The garden is something to do
To keep you out of trouble,
Out of violence and everything else,
So if we didn't have the garden,
Most of us would be
In jail by now.
(Nigel Watson, age 14, Brooklyn)
• Health and therapy are other benefits of community gardens. Taking care of plants, enjoying the outdoors, and getting exercise are all recreational attributes of gardening.
Your garden is good for meditating,
'Cause you can go out in your garden,
The birds are singing,
The bees out there,
And it's very good,
It really helps.
Nature is a great thing.
(Geneva Spann, The Bronx)
The information in this study guide includes ideas and selections from:
- Job Ebenezer, Director for Environmental
Stewardship and Hunger Education; Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America 8765 W. Higgins Road; Chicago, IL 60631
(ph) 773.380.2708 • (fax) 773.380.2707 email: ebenezer@elca.org
(Wading pool container gardening, as developed at the ELCA roof-top garden) - Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization
(ECHO), 17430 Durrance Road, North Fort Myers, FL 33917; (ph)
941-543-3246
- City Farmer - Canada's Office of Urban
Agriculture,
#801-318 Homer St.
Vancouver BC V6B 2V3
phone: 604-685-5832
e-mail: cityfarm@interchange.ubc.ca or see their web site: http://www.cityfarmer.org - The American Community Gardening Association,
325 Walnut Street;
Philadelphia, PA 19106 (fax) 215.988.8810 - GreenThumb, City of New York/Parks & Recreation, 49 Chambers Street, Room 1020; New York, NY 10007 (tel) 212. 788.8059
- Please click here for information about the
documentary "City Farmers".
Or, contact SouthHawk Studios; P. O. Box 545; Monterey, MA 01245
(ph) 413.528.4839 • (fax) 413.528.3148 (email) mhj48@earthlink.net
* This web article was compiled and designed by SouthHawk Studios: mhj48@earthlink.net
I love gardening,
I like to see things grow, and
If you take care of the garden,
The garden'll take care of you.
(Nathaniel Carter, Brooklyn)
back: Step by Step Guide History of Wading Pool Gardens
We could end starvation on this planet if people learned how to plant beans!
Do you know how easy it is to plant beans? 2" apart, 2" deep.
It's up to the people!
(Jimmy Keyes, The Bronx)