Hey gang,
In case you don't have land, you can always plant at property of friend's, family, a park, or a community garden.
Neighborhood Nutrition Network used to have a list of the area gardens, but they are under. I found this great article that lists them. Also, if you want to plant at the berry farm, talk to Michael.
A growing community
http://www.hogtownhomegrown.com/News_Items/A%20Growing%20Community%20by%20Cindy%20Swirko%207-30-2008.pdf
Anyone have updates, addresses, &/or contact info for these??
The 31st Ave garden is one of five in a program run by the city of Gainesville.
The others are the Grove Street Neighborhood Community Garden on NW 4th Street and
10th Avenue, the McRorie Community Garden at SE 4th Avenue and 6th Terrace, Green
Acres in the Sugarfoot neighborhood off Newberry Road and an unnamed garden on
Williston Road east of 34th Street.
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The blog about community gardens in Gainesville is also interesting. I took a vegetable gardening course through UF in Fall 2008 and found it very enjoyable. At home (in South Florida), we grow vegetables in large pots on our patio. It was fun to be able to rake and dig and plant and water the vegetables. Toward the middle to end of the semester I would leave each class with armfuls of fresh, organic vegetables (and beautiful flowers). It gave me an interesting feel for the global food shortages and the idea of educating people about community gardens and sustainable agriculture. Some might cite water shortages as an obstacle toward agriculture, but look at Israel's successful use of drip irrigation to overcome their lack of water in agriculture. Many countries have adopted a form of drip irrigation to use only the amount of water that is needed and eliminate waste. There are sustainable ways to teach gardening for crops and I think this can be successful in other countries. In the fall I plan to join one of these community gardens with my roommates. I think Guerrilla Gardening is also really interesting and a great idea. Like the blog said about the Orlando cell, this can be a great way to incorporate the homeless and give them a constructive and positive thing to do.
ReplyDeleteDanas, I found your post to be very interesting. I had no idea that UF offered a vegetable gardening class. If my schedule allows me to, I may consider registering for the class. I have always wanted to plant a garden, and your post encourage me to become more pro-active about my desire. I guess the one thing that stalled me from planting a garden is not actually knowing where to start.By taking this course, it will give me insight on all the materials and sources which are needed to get it started. Not to mentioned the "armful of fresh, organic vegetables", which is certainly a great perk. More people should know about community gardens. I believe people should be educated about the many benefits of these gardens, because they can serve a community in many ways.
ReplyDeleteThe course is called HOS 1014 I believe. It is a very interesting course, and I highly recommend it. There are a bunch of 1 credit horticulture-type classes that I have taken because I think they are so interesting. I have taken an Orchid class and 'Plants, Gardens, and You' (you leave each class with a new flower or plant), and 'Fruits for Fun and Profit' (you leave each class with fruits that were discussed in that lesson), and the vegetable gardening class. All were extremely interesting and valuable in my opinion. I did not know that I could grow these beautiful and/or tasty items in my limited spaces. I have tried to take one of these classes a semester because they tie into the environment and they put a bit of fun into my heavy class schedule. Definitely recommended!
ReplyDeleteIf you guys are looking for something with a little less comittment than a course, there are many sustainable initiatives that relate to food in G-Ville. The one that first comes to mind when thinking about gardens and such is GIFT Gardens, put on by Florida Organic Growers. From my understanding, anyone can volunteer and learn about growing some tasties in the area. Sounds like a pretty good deal.
ReplyDeletewww.foginfo.org
Email melissa at foginfo dot org for more info : )
I didn't even know classes like that existed. It's amazing to me how many different things you can learn about growing plants in your specific area. I wish I lived somewhere with space to have any sort of garden.
ReplyDelete