Starting a Community Garden

Part of Eco Garden Systems’ DNA is Community – our mission is to create communities through the shared adventure of gardening. These communities can range from family to neighbors to friends to schools to senior centers. A true “community” garden, however, is a bit more involved than the intimate nature of the smaller communities we originally set out to help.

So, if you want to get involved and start a community garden where you live – how do you get started? There are many pathways to make this happen and we have identified some steps that might work for you. Once started, this can be one of the most rewarding things you have ever done as you extend your passion for gardening to others and pay it forward in your community.

Step #1: Do you need to start a community garden or is there one near you that you can become part of? In the metro area of Minnesota, there is a new group called the Twin Cities Growers Network that is working to connect all community gardens together into a networking group to share ideas and insights. Their research indicates there are over 700 community gardens in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area and their goal is to bring together these community gardens into a sharing network. Check to see if your area has this type of group (see link here) - maybe there is already a community just waiting for you to join!

Step #2: If no network of community gardens is available or if there is no garden in proximity to where you live, then you get to decide if your passion leads you to start a community garden of your own. If the passion is there, then a Needs Assessment is the next step – this should include some work around fresh food availability, demographic and ethnic research and, through discussions within the community, the interest in using and supporting a community garden.

Step #3: If the Needs Assessment comes back with positive results and comments, you will now need space – and space that is free with room to grow. Check out local parks, check with the city to see where city or county owned property is located that could be used to get started. Don’t worry so much about the quality of the soil at this point – find space that is flat (hardscape might be okay depending on what sort of gardens you want to use). Determine how to create access and continuity – you want to make sure that you have alignment with the proper policy spaces (park boards, city, neighborhood associations, etc.) so that this passion project continues for many years.

Step #4: Now you need the critical component – resources. From gardens (like the Eco Garden Systems’ Original Garden – which was created with Community Gardening in mind) to materials to grants to partners (churches, businesses, care centers, schools, etc.), to free materials (compost, wood chips, etc.) – you will need to build the foundation for your community garden. Do not be afraid of mixing different styles – veggies and flowers can be part of the same garden if not always the same garden bed. Beauty and productivity are not mutually exclusive and will help your garden create more interest and more support.

Step #5: Establish basic rules like hours, access, what can be changed and what can’t, etc. This will be a working document but if any “rules of the road” came up during the research phase with neighbors or public entities, document these, make them part of the Community Guidelines and make sure all members are aware of these guidelines.

Step #6: Make it grow!! You have done the hard work – now comes the fun part. Get your seeds/plants in the soil and begin to grow. At this stage you can and should establish a social media presence and begin to get the word out. Communicate the rules, share images, share learnings and set meetings (visits from local experts or celebrities who garden) and begin the process of expansion. Don’t forget to enjoy your time in the garden – all work and no play means you don’t get to enjoy the real reason you started on this pathway – the joy of spending time with a little dirt therapy!!

Step #7: Get the word out. There is no point in creating a community garden if the community part does not come together. Consider social media accounts, newsletters you can be part of, local newspapers and those same groups (churches, businesses, care centers, schools, etc.) you identified in Step #4 - all of these can help you get the word out.

This is a pretty brief intro to the world of community gardening. There are a lot of details we left out – but have found a wonderful resource that includes the details and we have a link to it here. This document, put together by the Hamline University Law Department (St. Paul, MN) provides some good advice and information on where to seek further information from many states across the US. You will see by the depth of this document that there are a lot of resources for those who desire to get a community garden started. #Gardinspiration

Remember – it is always okay to #GardenDifferent

Craig Espelien is the President of Eco Garden Systems and a student of the entire US food supply chain.