Community Gardens

image description Photo Credit: Drew Folta

If you're looking for an activity that people of all ages can enjoy, start a community garden. Rallying support from your neighbors, friends, Tribe or community organizations is a great way to start a garden in your community! Oh, and you get to grow and eat your own healthy food.

Before you start a garden of your own, read and download this step-by-step guide, which offers important info about how to safely grow your own fruits and vegetables with others in your community. Here's a quick version of it:

Get Energized and Organized
Bring people and different organizations together to learn which issues are important to your community.
 
Get Help from Others
Form partnerships and gain access to: materials, tools, funding, volunteers and people to help :)  
 
Find the Right Space
What type of community garden do you want to plant? Depending on the type of garden, you can grow fresh, healthy food on the rez or in rural towns or provide awesome spaces where everybody can go. If you’re growing food in your garden, find a location that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight per day with an easy way to get water and good drainage.  
 
Healthy Garden, Healthy You

Before you start planting, it's important to research the history and past uses of your garden site. Once the past uses have been determined, take samples of the soil and have them analyzed to find out soil type and quality. EPA has step-by-step guidelines on how to do this. The quality of the soil can have an effect on the design of your garden.

Design Your Garden
Every community garden is different based on its specific size, location, and mission. Design your garden to fit the needs of your community. What kinds of plants grow well where you live? What are some traditional foods that you can grow?

Get Growing
Start gardening! Once the garden is up and running, let everyone know! And remember to plan ahead so that the garden will continue to grow for seasons to come.

Acknowledgement: This post was adapted from our friends at Let's Move. To download the full community garden checklist, visit letsmove.org

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