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Traditional Community Garden plots are relatively small and manageable for one family, or a group of four or five people to maintain together. Most often the food grown in community garden “plots” are for consumption by the producer, and/or family and friends.
As a way to explore gardening skills, and to enjoy a way of growing food for your own family, the Agricultural Training Center@Wilder Forest has set-aside 5 acres for Community Gardening. It’s our hope that people who want to grow food for themselves, their families, and friends will find a friendly atmosphere where they can grow both the crops of their choice, and friendships with other growers.
If you would like help in getting started, our staff is prepared to offer whatever support we can, including access to tools and equipment. In future years, we will identify topics that are of most interest to Community Gardeners and design trainings and offer technical assistance.
One step above community gardening is micro-farming. Working on larger plots of land, the growers are able to take their vegetables to market for sale. While increasing local access to food, micro-farming has a long tradition of strengthening communities. People get to know others in their area and, often, have a chance to interact with people they might not otherwise get to know. Micro-farming is a vehicle for spreading education about sustainable growing practices. Many of the micro-farming participants are new immigrant families, not those in the New Immigrant Agriculture Program . This provides another option for these families to meet their household food needs, while selling a minimal amount as a source of income for their families.
Learn More about Micro-Farming
Learn More about Produce Farming |