Community gardens involves a group using a larger piece of land to grow food. There are a number of ways for a group to create a community garden. There is no single right way to do this! There are options for how a group can use land to grow food, depending on what kind of group they are, and what their purpose is.

The options listed below are all based on examples here in Elkhart County. If you are interested in developing a community garden, you may find some helpful hints below. But remember – it’s your garden, and you can do it how you want to.

Existing group uses their own land for their own group.

One example of this is a church that has extra space on their church grounds to turn into a garden. Perhaps there are members of the congregation who have lost jobs, and need space to garden. The church uses its own resources to prepare the land, and allocate the land among its members.

Existing group makes its land available to others.

This might be a hybrid: the church that develops a garden on its grounds may divide the land between their own members, and also make some land available for families who want to grow a garden who do not have their own land.

This model can involve building a relationship between the group that owns the land, and families who use the land. For instance, church members with well developed gardening skills might work with families who are just learning to garden.

Groups or individuals may use their resources to create a community garden for others to use.

An institution such as a college or retirement home or other business, a government entity, or an individual with extra land to spare, might create a community garden for others to use. Offering land for others to use is generous. Creating a community garden involves providing resources in addition.

Considerations. All of these options involve making some decisions.

How will the land be prepared?

Seeds grow by themselves once they’re planted, but gardens don’t grow by themselves! They need to be plowed or tilled, smoothed over, layed out, etc. Groups can use their own resources to prepare the land. Another option is for groups that have financial resources to pay someone who needs work to prepare the land.

What additional resources will we need?

This can involve  soil testing and fertilizers, watering systems, hoes and rakes and shovels, seeds and plantings, etc.

How will the land be maintained?

Putting in a garden is the first step. Weeding and hoeing is the next step. There are different ideas of what constitutes proper maintenance of a garden! It’s a good idea to agree on standards of maintainable Some groups have a clause that allows a garden administrator to “take over” a plot if the weeds get out of hand and “endanger” other plots.

What will we do with the food?

If a community garden is divided into individual plots, each person or family harvests their own food, and uses for themselves. If a group sponsors a garden for others, it needs to decide how and when the food will be harvested, and what will happen with it when it is harvested.

One of the best resources for community gardens is American Community Gardening Association. 

Elkhart County has community gardens in the following areas… Bristol, Elkhart, Goshen, Middlebury, Nappanee.