Community Garden

[firstimegardener]

Hi
I am thinking of trying to do a community veggie garden at my church next year to help not only our church but also the community (we have a lot of low income and homeless families )I'd talked to them about it this year but it was so late in the season, I couldn't really get it going (that and I was really stressed out at the time and didn't want anymore on my plate)

Anyway, they looked at where to put it, and the best place would be a grassy area that a few cars park during sundays (if the garden goes there they no cars will park there)

My question is, is there anything I should start this fall to be ready for a spring planting? I'm reading here a lot, but this seems so big to me that I'm looking for advice.

[microcollie]

Grass can be a challenge to get rid of. Often if it's dug up, a good deal of the topsoil comes along. It would be good if you could do a cardboard or paper mulch now. The heat of the summer sun should speed things along. The hope would be that come spring, the grass would be dead root and all without compromising your soil structure too much.
You also might want to find out how many people would be interested, and begin thinking about how to divide the work and expense.
Tell local garden centers and growers about your plan, and you may be able to get donated seeds, soil, tools, etc.
Community-based agriculture is one of those things that gets my heart racing. It will be organic, (as much as it can be in soil that was once a parking lot) yes?

[cynthia_h]

Aside from converting grassy parking lot ==> garden, take a look at https://communitygarden.org/ for ideas on how to fairly distribute work, plots, water, fees (according to ACGA, there need to be fees, even if nominal), etc.

No need to re-invent the wheel; ACGA is a repository of information on what works and has been tried and found to work. (There's just not enough time to make all possible mistakes on our own... )

Depending on where you're located, perhaps a member of the congregation or a friend/relative can be asked for some assistance with the sheet-mulching of the grass?

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[firstimegardener]

Grass can be a challenge to get rid of. Often if it's dug up, a good deal of the topsoil comes along. It would be good if you could do a cardboard or paper mulch now. The heat of the summer sun should speed things along. The hope would be that come spring, the grass would be dead root and all without compromising your soil structure too much.
You also might want to find out how many people would be interested, and begin thinking about how to divide the work and expense.
Tell local garden centers and growers about your plan, and you may be able to get donated seeds, soil, tools, etc.
Community-based agriculture is one of those things that gets my heart racing. It will be organic, (as much as it can be in soil that was once a parking lot) yes?

Thanks for the tips

I want it organic as possible. There are several older women in our church who can't really "get out and garden" but I think they would love to maybe start seeds...

I want it to be as organic as I can, but if others are growing the seeds, I can just "ask" that they not use chemicals.

I can see so much good coming from a community garden...

[firstimegardener]

Aside from converting grassy parking lot ==> garden, take a look at https://communitygarden.org/ for ideas on how to fairly distribute work, plots, water, fees (according to ACGA, there need to be fees, even if nominal), etc.

No need to re-invent the wheel; ACGA is a repository of information on what works and has been tried and found to work. (There's just not enough time to make all possible mistakes on our own... )

Depending on where you're located, perhaps a member of the congregation or a friend/relative can be asked for some assistance with the sheet-mulching of the grass?

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

I will check out the website! Thanks!

There are a few people I can think of that I know would help, and I truly believe that if this is supposed to take off, there will be more...