Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
If your garden utilizes raised beds, the soil part of the equation is fairly simple. One of the advantages
is that contamination is not a problem, because you will be bringing in soil rather than using what's
existing at the site. Find either a landscape contractor or wholesaler who will source and deliver the soil
to the garden. Then you will need to get the soil from the pile dumped by the truck into the raised beds;
this is a good project for the gardeners. Particularly in an allotment scenario, gardeners will hopefully be
eager to make their part of the community garden happen. Plus, it is good for the gardeners to provide
sweat equity in the building of the garden. Don't be shy about asking them to fill their own raised beds,
and assigning other tasks to non-gardening volunteers.
Inground Growing
Presuming that your existing soil does not contain toxins, if you're planning a group-production garden
with inground rows, you'll still need to address the quality of the soil. While it may not be contamin-
ated, the soil may not be particularly fertile. There are entire topics on soil health; but the easiest way to
judge what you have to work with is by having the soil tested to assess fertility levels (again, your local
extension service or similar organization are good resources).
If your soil needs amendments to increase fertility, it will take money, resources, and equipment.
Maybe you'll require compost to boost fertility, sand to improve drainage, or some other supplement.
Then you'll need a way to spread these materials and integrate them into the soil. Volunteers love these
types of projects; just make sure there are enough volunteers to accommodate the size of your garden.
If not, you might want to consider augmenting the soil by working with a landscape company that has
heavy equipment.
To Compost or Not to Compost
Compost is a valuable component in healthy soil, and as you enter years two and three of your garden,
soil health will be an important issue your team will have to address. In your first year—starting with
your new, healthy soil—you should be good to go, and few or no further soil amendments will be re-
quired. But I promise you, one of the first things someone will ask in your community meetings is “Will
there be composting?” This is a question you need to consider very carefully.
Composting is a blanket term that can be confusing. Many people think of compost as kitchen food
scraps (banana peels, eggshells, unused bits of vegetables, and even coffee grounds or paper towels).
However, your garden will generate a lot of spent plant material—pruned leaves, rotten vegetables, re-
moved plants that have bolted (gone to flower or seed premature) or are dead at the end of the sea-
son—and these can all be composted, as well.
Composting is a relatively simple process—time and heat convert these materials to useful garden
matter. But managing a compost program in a community garden is not so simple. First, you need a few
volunteers dedicated to managing the program: tending the piles, turning them, adding materials when
needed and available. And in a community garden, you need to educate your gardeners constantly on
what can and cannot be put in a compost pile. Not all food scraps and not all spent plant matter can be
composted. Meat, fish, and cooked food are no-nos, for example, as are weeds that have gone to seed
and diseased plants. This education and monitoring can be an ongoing, frustrating endeavor.
