Community gardens on the rise

For her supply of fresh vegetables, Arlene Stagg goes to a plot where she can tend the land with like-minded residents of Le Sueur, Minn.

The city, population 4,276, has an attractive yet utilitarian community garden sponsored by the local Presbyterian Church.

"The water is supplied free. So are the hoses and the garden plots. And they do all the tilling. What's not to like?" said Stagg, who with her husband, Lowell, grows an assortment of vegetables.

Community gardens have come a long way from the modest neighborhood growing plots of a century or more ago.

They now serve as classrooms, neighborhood gathering sites, urban renewal projects and low-cost fresh food alternatives for families facing record high grocery prices.

There is more demand than supply for community garden plots in downtown Sacramento, Calif., said Bill Maynard, that city's community garden coordinator and vice president of the American Community Gardening Association.

He cited food security as one of the reasons for increased public interest. "People are into organic produce and wanting to know where their food is coming from," Maynard said.

Money is another factor: "We used to say a standard plot measuring 20-by-20 feet could grow $400 worth in food but now that same food may cost $500 or more, so it's a great way to supplement the monthly food budget," he said.

Interest in community gardening also has been climbing steadily in the St. Louis area, said Gwenne Hayes-Stewart, executive director of Gateway Greening, a nonprofit group that fights urban blight through neighborhood greening projects.

The reasons are simple enough: Fresh fruit and vegetables can be expensive and hard to find, while seniors prefer gardening in groups to being alone in their own yards.

"It is a relatively simple route to success and a cost-effective solution to many inner city problems associated with abandoned land," Hayes-Stewart said.

Like Sacramento, many of the community gardens in St. Louis have waiting lists.

"But with 18,000 vacant lots, there is no issue on having enough land to adopt," Hayes-Stewart said.

Community gardens often become the setting for informal neighbor-to-neighbor competition.

Who has the best tomatoes? The fewest weeds?

"Some people are in it just for the food and the flowers. But for most, it's the social aspect. The neighborhood beautification aspect," said Yvonne Savio, manager of the Common Ground Garden Program in Los Angeles County.

Community gardens in large cities are a real microcosm, she said. "A real collection of inter-everything. Intergenerational. Intercultural. And that's part of the joy. Some gardens sponsor potlucks once a month. People cook and bring what they grow. People become friends by virtue of what they grow."

And for some, it's even a moneymaker. In Le Sueur, no rules forbid the sale of what they grow.

"A widow lady who gardens near us says she does some selling, and it amounts to a lot of income over time," Stagg said. "She takes her produce down to the farmer's market and sells it there."

Recommended reading: "City Bountiful: A Century of Community Gardening in America," by Laura J. Lawson (University of California Press, $22.95).

Here's what you need.

• Well-defined in-ground garden plots ranging in size from 10-feet-by-10-feet to 20-feet-by-20-feet. Raised beds require less stooping but are more expensive to build. If you decide to go that route, then make the beds no wider than four feet to avoid stepping inside and compressing the topsoil and plants. Design pathways wide enough so wheelbarrows and other equipment can pass.

• A watering system of some kind, including hoses. Hand watering generally is more practical than using drizzler or soaker hoses in community gardens.

• A perimeter fence with lockable, drive-through gate to help deter vandalism and pilfering.

• A tool shed or shelters for tool and materials storage.

• Benches or tables where people can picnic, take their coffee along with some neighborly conversation or rest and reflect after digging in the dirt.

• Signs or bulletin boards specifying working hours, operating procedures and contact names and numbers.

• Shared compost bins for the natural discards. Garbage cans for items that can't be composted.

• Supervised play areas for children or special gardens where they can mimic the work of the adults.

-- Dean Fosdick