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Once you recognize the benefits of a community garden, you will want to organize one right away. Not only do community gardens provide healthy vegetables and herbs to many people, they can also create a friendly place of beauty for neighbors to gather and work together. So, how do you organize a community garden?

Solitary gardening is easy, but organizing your community to garden together can be trickier. First, you must ascertain if people in your community are interested in starting a community garden. Perhaps create a community garden group for people to join if they are interested. This can be advertised by the community or in schools, supermarkets, and the library. Pass out fliers to get other community members excited about the community garden.

Once you have attracted an interested group, discuss what type of community garden you will have. Some enjoy making flower gardens with pretty shade trees to sit under, and colorful blossoms to sniff or pick. Others might like a community vegetable garden where amateur farmers can grow tasty crops to share. You can even combine the two - flower and vegetable gardening - in the same plot. The decision depends on personal tastes and how much land you have to use.

After determining which type of community garden to create, it is time to allocate jobs. Different people will be suited for different tasks. Try to organize the jobs in the community garden based both on preferences and suitability. Some of these community garden tasks may include: mowing, digging, preparing soil, transporting plants, building a path, weeding, and watering. For example, an elderly woman might be great at planting seeds, while a muscular young man with a truck is better at picking up young trees at the nursery.

If you are having a divided community garden, each person or family will have an allotted space to do whatever they want with. This can be a good way of organizing the community garden if you do not want to establish leadership roles. There still must be some sort of rules, however. Garden plots must be maintained, and nothing dangerous or invasive can be planted. Rules must be agreed upon by all parties planting in the community garden. Having everyone sign a rule sheet or agreement is a good idea.

Organizing a community garden can bring beauty, fresh food, and camaraderie into your neighborhood. As long as roles and rules are clearly stated, the community garden will grow friendship and joy as it grows plants and flowers.

Learn more about this author, Melanie Marten.
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