The Sharing Garden

The American food supply is not at its best, between droughts caused by global warming, unscrupulous companies selling inferior or even contaminated products, and the economy diminishing people’s buying power.  Many people are responding by growing some of their own food. Here are some ideas about gardening in community.

Cooperative Gardening

1) If you enjoy gardening and have room for it, but you live alone or in a small household, go ahead and plant more than you can eat.  You will have fun raising the plants.  When harvest comes, share the bounty with your friends who don’t have space or skill for gardening.  Also contact local food banks, soup kitchens, and similar charitable organizations; some of them accept donations of fresh produce, but parameters vary.  

2) If you have space for a garden, plus some skill and time but not as much as you really need, talk to other folks about teaming up.  You may be able to find people to share the tasks and rewards of gardening.  Besides, it’s often more fun to work together than alone.  This is a good option for families with children, who want to make gardening a family activity — with more people, you can take turns watching the littles while other adults work.

3) If you have space for a garden but no  skill or time, try to find one or more gardeners living in an apartment or other place where there is no room for a garden.  Invite them to grow a garden in your yard.  You should get a few new friends and some produce out of the deal.

4) If you are interested in gardening but have no knowledge or skill, look for an experienced gardener who could use extra help.  Senior citizens and busy parents may have gardening skill but less time or physical ability than necessary.  Trade your willing hands for their knowledge, and share the produce.

5) If you’re a good gardener but have no space of your own, look elsewhere. Maybe you can grow a garden in someone else’s yard, or help a friend care for their garden.  Some towns also have community gardens where you can claim a space or share tasks and produce in a common plot.

6) If you grow a very small garden, so that there are too many seeds or plants in a package for you, then team up with other small gardeners and divide what you buy.  This is a great way to save money.  

7) If you have a surplus of some foods but don’t grow everything you want, compare lists with other gardeners and swap your extra produce.  For instance, I don’t do much with vegetable gardening but some of my fruit and herb plants yield more than I can pick.  I’m happy to trade cherries or raspberries or chocolate mint for tomatoes or sweet corn or watermelons.

8 ) Big surges of produce are ideal for preservation.  How much can you freeze, can, or dry?  More people can stock up a bigger harvest.  If you team up with friends, you can preserve huge batches and divide the results — plus if you’re growing different things, you can go from Jane’s strawberries to John’s peaches to Robin’s tomatoes, etc.

Yardshare

All this stuff, plus some other community-building activities, put together adds up to a movement called “yardshare.”  The general idea is to facilitate the sharing of space, equipment, knowledge, community, and fun with a focus on yards and gardens.

Some cities have a yardshare program that you can join.  Check at local nurseries, garden centers, farm stores, gardening clubs, neighborhood groups, churches, community centers, etc. to see if there is one in your area. Some newspapers, especially very small ones, allow ads about yardsharing; they might even be interested in an article on the topic.

There are also some organizations covering a wider range.  Hyperlocavore is a Ning social network that helps people find and create yardsharing groups wherever they live, mainly for gardening.  Yardshare emphasizes photos and landscaping plans of communally enjoyed yards, and it offers forum space for discussions.