Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common Garden Sizes- a survey question

[Sara Gottlieb (sara.gottlieb]

Hi Pare,

I manage a community garden as well as being the primary gardener in Lake
Claire CoHousing in Atlanta, GA, USA.  Ideal individual garden plot size is
approximately 3 ft x 5 or 6 ft (apologies for imperial measures).  The key
is not to be too wide or it gets difficult to reach plants in the middle of
the plot from the outside.  One factor to consider is the material of the
borders if using raised beds.  Untreated wood will deteriorate over time
but is not that hard to replace.  Many pre-fab metal structures are
available.  They are expensive but less degradable over time.

As far as a the larger garden for producing veggies/fruits for meals, I
think there are a variety of ways you could configure it depending on
whether you want a large area capable of being tended using large equipment
like tillers (personally, I think a no-till, no-dig approach is far better)
and also considering the problem of irrigation.  You could also just have
6-12 individual raised beds used for growing community produce - this might
be easier to manage and also allows for easy swapping out of crops as they
finish as well as rotating crops that shouldn't be planted repeatedly in
the same soil, like tomatoes.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution but I will say it can be surprising
how much food one can grow on a very small plot of land.  There are many
books on this subject, such as Epic Homesteading and The Backyard
Homesteader.

Make sure to leave room for flowers and native plants that will attract
pollinators and natural predators to your garden.

Good luck and happy gardening!
Best,
Sara

Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2024 15:50:25 +0300
From: Pare Gerou <paregerou [at] gmail.com>
To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
Subject: [C-L]_ Common Garden Sizes- a survey question
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???? ???!

Our excavation is going swimmingly, we've picked out the rock we are using
for some of the homes, and we should be able to release more drawings and
renderings soon.  We've planned a great party on the land on July 28th and
another in September to mark breaking ground.  Come join us!

Now- onto the matter at hand. I'm reaching out with a garden survey
question I hope you can assist us with. Given our community's e
environment-- 34 homes with a shared passion for good healthy food, and a
vibrant agrihood environment with fresh produce all around us- we're
seeking guidance on optimal garden plot sizes.

Like most communities, we're expecting a sspectrum of passionate gardeners,
food forest enthusiasts, all the way down to many who have no interest at
all and would rather go for a hike or to the beach.

Could you advise on the recommended size for individual garden plots?

What dimensions would yyou advise for our Common House plot --to
sustainably supply fresh produce for common meals?

With Appreciation,
Pare Gerou
www.GreekVillageCohousing.com <http://www.greekvillagecohousing.com/>
-- 

Sara J. Gottlieb
sara.gottlieb [at] gmail.com