Many of us have either driven by or participated in local community gardens, and look on with awe and wonder as the brown splotches of dirt transform into lush green outdoor produce aisles over the spring and summer months.
As the price of food begins to rise in America (as it already has globally), many of us, perhaps inspired by local community gardens, will consider growing our own food as a way to save money.
Small raised garden beds look great and are perfect for those who desire a few fresh veggies for occasional salads or sides, but many do not realize is that growing enough vegetables to actually feed an entire family (much less a community) requires a sizable amount of land.
Families or individuals who want (or need) to grow enough food to live off of will quickly discover that a handful of 4'x8' raised beds is not enough. A typical arrangement of 3-5 raised beds would be picked clean in weeks (if not sooner) if that was all a family had to eat from.
Community "square foot" gardens are wonderful places to learn basics of preparing and amending soil, organic weed and pest control, and proper care to produce tasty vegetables. I cannot recommend participating in them enough. But, partly by design, the square foot gardens are a poor example of how to grown substantial amounts of food for larger groups of people. Imagine growing vegetables to feed an entire neighborhood - all but a very few community gardens would simply be overwhelmed.
Vegetables require adequate spacing and sunlight for optimum growth. Without full sun and properly amended soil, plants are not able to produce an optimal harvest.
Growing enough food to feed a family of 4 requires at least a 1/3 acre of open, sunny land, adequate labor to weed and harvest, knowledge, determination, and patience. Many of the skills can be learned at your local community garden. Some (patience) come easier to some than others.
Many community gardens offer seedlings for sale, usually at $1 or so per plant. Imagine putting down several rows with 20 plants each. Multiply that by a half dozen or more varieties and we see that buying plants for larger gardens is unwise.
Seed can be started indoors in trays, placed under windows, and eventually seedlings can be transplanted into the soil once the chance of frost has passed. This is the same thing the community garden does when it offers seedlings for sale to the public. There isn't any magic to starting plants from seed. You'll need a little potting soil, trays, and some warm light or sunny window. My family built a small "hot house" from old lumber and leftover sheets of plastic. This allowed us to get an early start every year.
With many living in apartments and condos, growing our own vegetables is obviously not as easy as opening up the back door and digging in the yard. This is where Craigslist can be utilized. When I lived for a short time in an apartment building, I posted an ad looking for a small amount of land to grow vegetables. In return for use of the land I offered half the produce to the land owner. Don't let being city-bound stop you from living sustainably.
I've seen several beautiful vegetable gardens planted in front yards. I've personally plowed a dozen or so front yards in the area. The idea is catching on.
Larger gardens are not as easy to prepare by hand. Again, Craigslist can be an excellent resource. Many suburban folks have tractors and are able to do an initial plowing & tilling for a small fee. Make sure to call 811 (call before you dig) prior to any garden work. Ask the operator to plow as deep as he or she can.
Of course, use good judgment. Don't plow or lay rows vertically on an incline. Your good soil and veggies will wash away with the first hard rain. Improper plowing techniques is part to blame for the dust bowl. If planting on an incline always make your rows horizontal, across the grade. Many farmers of old cut terraces into rolling hills, to help prevent erosion by offering a more level surface for plants to grow. You may consider doing similar techniques on smaller tracts of land, to make them useful.
You should add as much organic material (and aged compost) as possible. Over time rain and human traffic will compact the ground into its former state (in Georgia we have red clay, which is miserable to work with when dry). Compost, leaves, grass clippings, sawdust, aged manure, anything along these lines should be amended to the soil and tilled in as deep as possible. Doing so will aide in water retention and plant health. Deep plowing/tilling (or double digging if done by hand) is crucial for root crops like Sweet Potatoes or Peanuts. Lots of organic content will help prevent your garden from becoming a brick in the summer.
Once your garden is initially prepped, you should be able to maintain it by hand or with a small garden tiller for the rest of the season.
As we move forward in the growing economic financial crisis, with speculators and other factors causing prices of food to surge globally, it is increasingly important for us to consider ways to provide for ourselves and our neighbors.
Community gardens are excellent resources to learn the basics of growing vegetables, but (in most cases) should not be considered as a resource to provide for the entire community in times of need.