Sustaining and Growing Your Community Garden
Congratulations on turning your community garden idea into a reality! Now that you have your community garden in place, here are some topics to help keep it going and growing.
The Community Garden Yearly Schedule (PDF) is a great resource to plan your year. It includes activities from this section and a suggested timeline.
Want a little inspiration for your garden? Check out Local Gardens in Action for examples and photos from gardens across N.L. Visit the other sections of our Community Garden Toolkit for more practical tips for community gardens at any stage of development.
Section Contents
► Garden Maintenance
► Communicating with Gardeners and the Community
► Safety and Security in the Garden
► Celebrating Your Garden
Garden Maintenance
In community gardens, everyone pitches in to keep things running smoothly. Gardeners maintain individual plots and shared areas like communal plots, composting bins, sheds, and greenhouses.
Make a list of maintenance jobs for the garden. Put this list up somewhere visible and make sure everyone knows what needs to be done. It's important to share these tasks equally among gardeners and volunteers.
Shared tasks include:
Cleaning and storing tools
Picking up litter and yard debris
Turning and shifting the compost bin
Mowing and trimming grass
Raking leaves on walkways
Upkeep of sheds, fences, and greenhouses
Spreading soil over multiple beds or plots
Try to host communal work days at least twice a year. These are times when everyone comes together, typically in spring and fall, to get the garden ready for planting or to close it down for winter.
Gardening tasks will depend on what you’ve planted and the season. Typical tasks include watering, weeding, fertilizing, pruning, and mulching. There are many resources available about how to maintain your garden beds and grow food in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Helpful resources include:
Local farmers and garden centres
Facebook Groups (e.g. Backyard Vegetable Farmers NL)
Gardening books and guides by local authors. Check the catalogue at your N.L. Public Library branch.
Other community gardeners and partners identified in Getting Started: Step 2
Maintaining shared spaces ensures everyone can participate safely.
More hands make a light work day at the Pasadena Community Garden.
Garden maintenance at the Reid Street Community Garden in Corner Brook. Photo by Samantha Martin, Sprout Photography.
Communicating with gardeners and the community
Effective communication is key to boosting participation and support for your community garden. Create different ways of keeping people informed, depending on what they need to know.
Keep accessibility in mind for your communications. For example, include photo descriptions online and use text sizes and colours that are easy to read. Writing should be easy to skim and understand.
Gardener Registration
Gardener registration is an important part of getting ready for the upcoming season. Registration is the main way to gather contact information. It’s an opportunity to coordinate volunteer tasks and arrange for mentorship and accessibility needs. It’s also a time to collect membership fees.
Prepare your application form and gardener guidelines before the season begins. The Gardener Application Form Template (PDF / Google Doc) and Gardeners Welcome Package Template (PDF / Google Doc) are a great place to start. You can adapt these templates to fit your garden.
You can hold registration and share materials online and in person. Online registration may be easier to access for people with busy schedules. In-person registration allows people to meet and ask questions.
A bulletin board in a visible place is perfect for garden news, rules, and event postings, like this one at the CBS Community Garden in Manuels River.
Keeping Gardeners In contact
Gardeners must have clear information and a way to contact each other and the committee. Here are some options for your community garden:
Share a garden roster of member’s names, plot numbers, and contact information (collected during registration)
Create an email address for the garden committee. This is a useful point of contact for the community, media, and the gardeners.
Hold community garden meetings. Schedule them at convenient times with plenty of notice. Take notes and share them afterward.
Create a Facebook page/group for the community garden or use another social media platform that members are comfortable using.
Build a bulletin board or have a space inside the shed in the Garden to post the Gardener Guidelines and any updates or information.
Host work days and social events. See the Community Garden Yearly Schedule (PDF) and the section on Celebrating Your Garden for ideas!
Community Outreach
Community outreach is a great way to get people involved in the garden. You can share your garden’s activities and inform people about the benefits of community gardens. This can help increase support, recruit members or volunteers, and help sustain the garden long-term.
Here are ways to increase awareness about your garden:
Make a simple display and attend community events.
Create garden posters that list contact information, meeting times, and upcoming activities. Post an electronic version on the community’s Facebook page or a print copy on public bulletin boards.
Get the word out through local radio, TV, newspapers, and free publications.
Use special events to celebrate your activities. Offer tours and open garden days for the public or invite the community to help on work days for big projects. For more ideas see the section on Celebrating Your Garden.
Share your produce with other community programs.
Add your garden to Food First NL’s Local Programs Map.
Safety and Security in the Garden
Your community garden should be a welcoming and safe place for everyone.
Dealing with mischief or conflict can be stressful or discouraging for gardeners. Remember, not all theft is intentional. Sometimes problems happen because people don't understand the rules. It's best to educate people about the boundaries of the community garden and make friends with the neighbours over time.
Before the garden season
Create a plan. Look to your gardener guidelines for information about how gardeners should behave and how to report issues if they occur.
Discuss risks and the possibility of mischief with all the gardeners. Everyone should feel confident and prepared to handle any issues.
Host group training for first aid and reversing opioid poisoning (naloxone). Learn how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) machine, if one is nearby.
Create clear signage. Clearly label communal garden beds and add names to allotment garden plots. Labelling will make it easier for community members to understand how the garden works. See Local Gardens in Action for examples.
Include safe design and lighting. Your garden layout should have clear sightlines to roads and paths. Consider using lighting to make the garden visible at night.
During the garden season
Make sure everyone in the garden knows how to use the tools and equipment safely.
Keep a first aid kit and safety gear, like gloves and eye protection, easily available.
Post emergency contacts in an accessible place.
Identify gardeners with current first aid training during group events and work days.
Encourage social connection. Have shared times for social events and volunteering, like workdays and meetings. Gardeners may like to work in pairs or bring a cell phone to be more comfortable.
Encourage members to check their plots and harvest all produce frequently. People may be tempted to take things if they feel it is going to waste.
Address untended garden plots. Send gardeners a reminder if their plot seems unused.
Be welcoming to people who visit the garden and take time to meet the neighbours. Read the Communications section for ideas about how to involve the community.
Clear signage and plot numbers at the Clarenville Community Garden. Their private property sign clearly communicates who can and cannot harvest vegetables.
A clearly marked, well stocked, and easily accessible first aid kit is a must-have for any garden.
Workdays and ample seating areas can encourage social connection at the garden. The collection of benches at the Marystown Seventh-day Adventist Community Garden is a great example.
Evaluating the Garden
Evaluation is an important part of sustaining your community garden and improving it over time. It’s an opportunity to understand what’s happening at the garden, how the garden is changing over time, what people enjoy, and any challenges.
Questions to Guide Evaluation
Take some time with your garden committee to brainstorm a few key questions you want to answer. Consider what you need or want to know and how you’ll use the information. Reports for funders or donors may have specific questions that you need to answer.
Guiding questions:
What activities did your community garden undertake?
How many plots are being looked after?
How many people attended events or work days?
Take note of new fundraising, partnership, building and maintenance activities
What positive changes are a result of the garden?
How will feedback be used to improve people’s experiences?
How well does this garden model meet community needs?
Do people have fun and feel included?
Do we have enough volunteers and other resources?
Is there a waitlist to participate?
Collecting Information
Use your evaluation questions to decide how you want to collect information. Collecting information doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as asking people what they enjoy and need.
Take photos and videos
Keep a log of garden activities and events
Record meeting minutes
Survey gardeners
Surveys should be short and simple
Create the survey either on paper or online.
Try offering a reward for people who finish the survey. For example, a draw for garden supplies.
Check out the Survey for Gardener Feedback Template (PDF / Google Doc) to build your end-of-season survey for gardeners.
Make sure everyone knows how you’re using the information that you collect. For example, you can use it to improve the garden or report to funders. Share a summary of what you find with the group, either in a written report or at a potluck or meeting.
Celebrating Your Garden
Take the time to celebrate your hard work and success! It is important to acknowledge everyone’s contributions and what you have accomplished together. In doing so, you'll strengthen the sense of community and motivate people to be involved.
There are lots of ways to celebrate your garden throughout the year. You can highlight your hard work online and share special projects in a newsletter and social media posts, or at a harvest celebration. You can also invite gardeners and community members to visit the garden, host a special event, or harvest celebration.
Garden Events
Special events are a fun way to connect and celebrate. Ask your members for ideas and reach out to different community groups that can get involved.
Example events for gardeners and/or community members include:
workshops
festivals
potlucks
garden tours
food skills contests (e.g. jams, preserves, vegetables, etc.)
social and recreational events (e.g. movie nights, holiday gatherings, and craft workshops)
Contact
Contact our staff with any Community Garden Toolkit questions or comments. Email us at info@foodfirstnl.ca or call and leave a message at (709) 237-4026
