A well planned community garden can pull the entire neighborhood together with a common goal; to grow vegetables and flowers for everyone to enjoy. If you are ready to start a garden but, you don't know where to start, here is your step-by-step guide for how to plan a community garden. When there is an effort to bring a community together, there a a greater chance of harmony and peace in the neighborhood.http://www.mrsc.org/Subjects/Parks/comgarden.aspx

You can start your community garden with a business, non-profit organization or with your family, friends and people in the neighborhood. There are several things you need to do before you can start planting and if you want your garden to be a success, you will need tools, volunteers, a piece of land, seed to plant, tools and plenty of time.

There are several types of community garden that you can start, and with each one you have to choose what you are going to do with the bounty from your garden. You can give the food, that is not used by the neighborhood, to the local food pantry or to the homeless shelter.

Here are some of the different types of community gardens you can start:

• Organic
• Neighborhood only
• Members only
• Given as food to feed the hungry
• For profit or not for profit. http://www.communitygarden.org/learn/starting-a-community-garden.php

You should decide early on if you plan to collect dues from the people who have access to the vegetables in the garden. When the members pay dues, this will help to ensure enough money to replenish the seeds, plants and other supplies if there is no one to sponsor the garden. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/Kinder/communst.html

Before you can plant your first seed, you have to have the all of the preliminary details worked out. The first thing you need to do is get a group of people together to help you get get the project started and to help you maintain the garden throughout the growing season and beyond.

1. You can post fliers throughout the neighborhood to let people know you need volunteers to help you plan, build and maintain a community garden.
2. Tell everyone you know about the need for a garden and tell them to tell everyone else so that you can get some qualified people to help you get started.
3. Put an ad in the newspaper asking for donations to make your garden a complete success. You can ask for land, volunteers, gardening tools, expert advice or whatever you need to succeed.
4. Ask your church if you can use a small piece of land to build and grow your community garden. The members can lend a hand with maintaining and distributing the harvest.

After you have people who are willing to help you get started, you have to let each of them know what you want them to do. You need to have a clear, detailed list of all of the things that need to be done to get the garden started. Make a list that will make sure to get every detail accomplished and divide the people into groups or categories that will put their best skills to work.

You will need someone to be in charge of several different areas of the project. Here are some of the areas you can appoint to a qualified volunteer so that you can take care of other things. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/Kinder/communst.html

1. Securing a location. Appoint someone who is qualified, to locate, then get permission to use, a plot of land for the community garden.
2. Getting the proper gardening tools from donations or from the store.
3. Someone to make a monthly calender with the dates marked when volunteers are needed to work in and maintain the plants and vegetables.
4. If you can't always be there to oversee the maintenance of the garden, appoint someone to be there when the volunteers are working.

Now that you have your location and you know who is going to help you plant, grow and maintain your garden, it's time to get started. http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4300.htm

Let all of the volunteers know that you are having a meeting to discuss the new community garden that is coming soon. You can put fliers around the neighborhood and the new garden site and meet there to discuss getting the garden started. Let everyone know just how important it is that they do what they are supposed to do and let them know how often you need them to come to the garden to maintain and keep the area clean and looking good.

When you have your meeting, you can bring refreshments, ask others to bring something and there can be enough snacks for everyone to enjoy. If you do not want to have the meeting at the garden site, have it at the recreation center.

After the meeting everyone should be clear of their responsibilities and you should have every chore covered with by a qualified volunteer who will get the job done.

If you can, you should find a sponsor who will give you supplies or cash to help with the cost of what you need. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/Kinder/communst.html But, if you cannot find someone to sponsor your venture, you can rent space where other people have their flowers and vegetables growing. http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2008/06/27/adventures-in-organic-community-gardening/

After you have all of your volunteers and other helpers in place and you have your garden site, seeds, plants and necessary tools, you have to prepare the garden and the immediate area for the community garden that is getting ready to be planted. There should be someone appointed to handle every aspect of the planting but, first you need to do a few other things.

• The planting area should be cleaned and free of weeds and other debris.
• The ground should be tilled and the soil should already be mixed with nutrients and ready to accept the seeds and plants.
• There should be plans with a garden design that show where the plants will be placed for maximum growth.
• If there are children involved, how will they contribute? Make sure the children have something to do to keep them occupied and safe. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/Kinder/communst.html

Things to Remember:

• Taking on the responsibility of starting a community garden takes a lot of work and dedication. Before you get started, make sure you can and will make sure the garden is taken care of throughout the entire year.

• There are a lot of spiders and mosquitoes in a garden, so you have to protect yourself from insect bites. http://www.laddarboretum.org/communitygardening.htm#westnile