All Together Now! Easy, Peasy Community Gardening

Intrigued by community gardens, but worried about getting in over your head? It can certainly seem daunting and ambitious, but thinking of it as “gardening in community” and taking it just one step at a time may make it easier to get started. Consider these three easy steps to jump start your spring planting:

Step One: People

• Gardening in community can be as simple as a small group of friends, neighbors, or colleagues who are interested in pooling resources and sharing the gardening experience with others. Nobody needs to be an expert. It’s more about enthusiasm and willingness to work than horticultural degrees. Tons of information is out there to help you succeed, and good gardeners learn by doing.

Step Two: Places

• You don’t need to have a giant fertile field, big equipment, and row after row of field crops to succeed. Think outside the box. Manage your expectations (and increase your odds of success) with container gardening. Driveways, parking lots, roof tops, vacant lots, you name it! Container gardening gives you complete control of your soil and watering. If it’s sunny, it works. Portable containers Smart Pots and Big Bag Beds give you the ultimate flexibility to manage your space for maximum yields, especially when there’s a wide variety of sizes that allow you to use every nook and cranny for planting.

Step Three: Plants

• Here comes the fun part! What do you like to eat? Visit your local garden center and see what’s available in young veggie starts and seeds. Do you want tons and tons of tomatoes for home grown, vine ripened summer salads and sandwiches? Add some peppers, cilantro and onions for a salsa garden and you have a dream kitchen garden—even if the only space you have is a friend’s driveway. Don’t forget herbs and a few flowers for the butterflies and bouquets. Now you’re living the good life!