Community Garden!

I plan on spending some time working this year in a community garden our church built. It consists of fifteen acres acquired a few years ago for the purpose of providing free gardening spaces for anyone who needs a small space to raise a few vegetables. The acreage was subdivided into three sections of five acres each. One area provides plots measuring about 15' X 15'. The remaining acreage is equally divided between a fruit/nut orchard and vegetable production for food pantries and soup kitchens.

I visited the "farm" this past weekend to see how it looks after sitting fallow for the winter. The community area was surprisingly active with the "owners" of about twenty or thirty plots already preparing their soil for planting. The design and planting restrictions on the plot owners is minimal. It's very interesting to watch people of many nationalities preparing their plot in traditional ways. Some erect simple bamboo structures, while others erect PVC or wooden structures to support shade cloths over their plots. Some line the edges of their plots with rock or pressure treated timbers. Many use wood chip mulch and other materials to cover the foot paths around their plots.

If you look at each plot up close, they are very ingenious in how they are prepared and cared for. If you move far enough away, the area has the appearance of a third world shanty town.

I'm very interested in seeing what the individuals of various nationalities plant as their preferred crops. I'll take some photos of the crops as the season progresses and post them.

Here are a couple of videos of the garden. I forgot these are available on the internet. On the first link, you must scroll to the bottom of the page to click the link to the video.

http://dentoncountyfarmbureau.org/ne...dcommunity.asp

This is a youtube video of the garden as it was being constructed a few years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qIVczgHm7o


Ted