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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Thursday, October 18, 2018

A Community Garden - Food For Thought

The garden blogs of some  English bloggers, have shared experiences from  their allotments, Denise at A Growing Obsession has written about her community garden plot,  and recently, Nadezda posted about Swedish allotments here.  There's a community garden not far from my home that I drive by fairly regularly and last weekend, the huge sunflowers planted around the perimeter drew me in.  I thought that I'd only be able to look from behind a fence but the garden is open on one side making exploration easy.


All kinds of spaces planted with quite a variety of annuals and vegetables.

Tomatoes certainly enjoyed our hot summer!

The garden is a community outreach project of the Salvation Army Church and a large portion is dedicated to growing fresh produce to donate.  

There were a couple of volunteers working on hauling wood mulch to cover paths.  In chatting with one gentleman, he said that the garden was open to anyone. 

There were actually several plots that were empty. 

Freshly harvested radishes and tomatoes.

Every gardener wishes for more space and I'd love to plant a cutting garden and grow a few vegetables. 


Growing things in an off site garden would definitely be a different experience from having plants surrounding one's home.





Zinnias look great in a vase and I'd be motivated to start a few things like this from seed. Also on my list would be sweet peas, tomatoes, maybe a zucchini or two.


Look at that great potting/hand washing area!


Would you consider adding a community garden plot to your gardening experience?  Have you done this before?  Was it rewarding? 

Since spring is a few months away, there's a bit of time to contemplate and if you need a space for that, there's a stone labyrinth here as well.

11 comments:

  1. Seattle's P-Patch program was a huge inspiration to me, back in my apartment days. I loved wandering through the different gardens. One was in development just up the street from me — and I'd signed up to be a part of it — right before I moved back to Spokane. My only concern wold be watering. Having to drive over there during the summer to water, would that get old?

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  2. You may have solved the issue of not enough space in your home garden. Love the idea of growing sweet pea, but you should know there is no such thing as "a zucchini or two"; they seem to grow in bushels.

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  3. I gardened in a community garden in college. I was challenging since the site had no water source and water had to be brought in. It got old really fast. A friend and I were marginally successful, but as college seniors that was good enough for us.

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  4. Like Chavliness, this post had me wondering if your were contemplating an off-site garden to deal with your little space problem. I'd do it if there was space somewhere that wouldn't require a long drive. I seriously considered a community plot when I lived in Santa Monica decades ago but even then the waiting list was years long.

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  5. Hope the garden continues and prospers. Awe zinnas , great for cutting and there are so many to choose from when started from seed.

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  6. If you're up for going back and forth and keeping it watered, a plot in the local community garden might be a good solution for your lack of sunlight. You could grow some great cutting flowers there, as well as vegetables. My raised beds worked very well as a cutting garden this year. You could grow Dahlias!

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  7. I am intrigued by community gardens, or pea patches. We pass a big one in the Rainier Valley on the light rail.
    We don't need one, since we have our own, but a blog friend of mine does in Bellingham.
    Today we pulled out the last of the vegetable and annual plants. Tom is getting the raised beds ready for winter, with compost and ground cloth/weed barrier. The tomatoes are in a separate bed and are still trying to ripen. With the sun at a lower angle, ann the trees ever taller, sunlight is a problem now and most stuff had shut down and gone to mildew.

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  8. I have never done a community garden. I have gone outside my garden onto what we call the side lot and made a cutting garden before. It is tricky to water even as close as this was other than that I would say go for it.

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  9. When I lived in Boston, I had one (so long ago I don't remember what I planted). But look at all that sun - NO shade! I think you ought to get a plot and grow some veggies and cut flowers for IAVOM. :) Any leftover veggies you can give to the food bank. Win/win!

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  10. I am able to grow a few veggies in the garden so I would say go for it if you would be able to manage the watering and it isn't too far away.

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  11. There's a community garden at a park a few blocks away. Judy and I hope to get a plot there after retirement.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.