Community gardens can be a great way to increase urban farming and maintain the native species of the area. They’re excellent ways to help maintain fresh food while creating green space for folks to enjoy. These gardens can be started by anyone, though you should ensure everyone participating in the project is legally allowed to garden on the property being used.
Here’s a quick guide to creating a community garden that you and your neighbors can enjoy:
The most important starting point is getting the space cleaned up. If there are large or industrial bouts of cement or other materials, be sure to have a certified professional help break up and dispose of those pieces before you get started.
For land with only weeds, dead brush and other organic plant matter, an afternoon of yard work should be all it takes to clean up the area. Once cleaned, you can design your community garden with your neighbors.
After cleaning the area and designing your plots, it’s time to build the containers you’re going to plant in. These containers can be floating garden boxes for smaller items such as herbs or small greenery. For deeper planters, try creating boundaries of concrete or wood.
Once you have your planters created and set up, it’s time to replace the soil. Most home improvement and garden stores will have soil with specific nutrients to help your garden thrive.
With the containers set up, now it’s time to plant your garden. Some plots may be large enough for seed balls, especially if the area is frequented by small creatures or harsh weather. For areas that may not need as much protection, plant seeds evenly and with enough room to start rooting.
Be sure to incorporate some native plants into your community garden to ensure the ecosystem stays intact.
Now you and your community can sit back and watch your garden grow as you all continue to cultivate it together. Anything that isn’t immediately used by neighbors in the community can be donated to local shelters, while the non-edible plants can be used as decoration for your homes and the rest of the neighborhood.
Susan Shuxian Hu has been a dedicated realtor serving in Silicon Valley since 2010. With great passion, outstanding negotiation skills and due diligence, she has helped many buyers and sellers in their real estate needs. Living in West San Jose for more than 14 years, she has broad knowledge in Cupertino, West San Jose, Los Altos and Saratoga. She has enormous patience working with buyers and never tired of showing all possible properties that may fit client’s needs. Clients appreciate her best service to their satisfaction. She specialized in luxurious real estate purchase in Los Altos, Cupertino, Saratoga and Palo Alto. She also helped friend and past client’s referral working in San Francisco, Foster City and far reached Bay Area.
Susan Shuxian Hu was graduated in East China Normal University in Shanghai with bachelor and master degrees in Bio science. She came to US in 1989 and earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics in Texas A&M University in 1996. After one year of postdoc in Southern Florida University in Tampa, she moved back to Orlando with her family and started working in Lucent Technologies. In 2002, Susan moved to California, Silicon Valley joined a start-up company. Since then she worked in high tech Corporation till 2009. Driven by her dream job pursuing, she found her passion working in sales by helping people in real estate after one year of education in De Anza business and real estate law study. Since then, she has been serving many people in Bay Area for their real estate needs.
With bilingual advantage, she has been actively working with Chinese immigrants as well as local engineers and residents. With rich high tech background and connection with Chinese community, Susan has served in luxurious real estate in last a couple of years.