My seeds sprouted about a week ago and though the seedlings continue to stretch their tiny newborn leaves toward the sun, they still have a bit more growing to do before they’re ready for the big wide world outside. So instead of the next installment in how to grow your own food, I thought I'd talk a bit about Community Gardens.  

For those who don't want to set up their own gardens, Community Gardens can be a wonderful alternative, and here in the Bay Area we are lucky to have a wide variety of models to choose from. 

Community Gardens – farming local  food for the community

These tend to be small farms organized around producing large quantities of healthy produce for local residents, typically distributed through farm stands, farmers’ markets, produce boxes, and work exchanges. These also act as wonderful demonstration gardens utilized in workshops to teach folks how to set up their own backyard gardens, and volunteers are typically welcomed during limited hours.

• City Slicker Farms – operates 6 urban farms/gardens in West Oakland
• People’s Grocery – operates 2 urban gardens in West Oakland
• Funk Town Farm – a community farm near Laney College (15th St @ 3rd Ave)

Community Gardens – shared plots of land for individuals to garden

These tend to be centrally located public gardens, subdivided into individual plots available to local residents for personal gardening. The Oakland Park System runs a number of these gardens and for a small annual fee ($25), along with a registration application (and likely a serious wait), you can tend your plot year round however you choose. It’s like having your own personal backyard garden, only it’s not in your backyard. List of Community Garden Locations.  Map here.

Community Gardens – neighbors networking together to share

There are also some wonderful resources for those who want to garden close to home, but aren’t quite sure how to get started. More and more groups are being formed to help residents interested in gardening connect with each another, share resources and expertise, and also the bounty once it’s grown.

Victory Gardens for example (thank you for writing in Victoria!) has wonderful resources to help individuals set up their own garden work party, and may even be able to help you fund it if you qualify.

The original “victory” gardens were planted decades ago, encouraged by the federal government to cope with food shortages during WWII.  “By 1943, Americans planted more than 20 million victory gardens -- at homes and schools and in parks -- that were reported to produce 8 million tons of food…” (Victory gardens sprout up again by Mary MacVean).

A similar movement is already underway today!

I’m sure I am missing some wonderful community gardens in this write-up. If you know of any publicly open gardens Ive missed or other networking resources for those interested in shared gardening spaces, please send them in as comments. Thank you!