Seeking common ground: community gardening in Manchester, NH
Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 8:03AM Note: The following is the first in a two-part series exploring community gardening in Manchester, NH.
If there's any doubt as to the demand for community gardens in Manchester, NH, just ask Izet Hamidovic.
An employee of The Way Home, Hamidovic oversees the Pine Street Community Garden, which includes 15 family gardening plots, one handicap accessible plot and eight very plots for children:
"We have a waiting list to get in, but no one has left in the last five years," Hamidovic said.
The Pine Street Community Garden, located in the Center City, is one of only three community gardens in Manchester, NH. The International Institute of New Hampshire operates another on the grounds of Brookside Congregational Church. Both of these gardens serve the city's immigrants and refugees. The third community garden is also located in the North End, on the grounds of the Youth Development Center. This garden is used to grow fresh produce for the New Hampshire Food Bank.
Julia Steed Mawson, an educator with UNH Cooperative Extension, tells me her organization has seen a very noticeable uptick in community gardening interest as of late.
"With the desire for more local and organic food, the economy in general and the fact that the Obamas put in a garden at the White House, people are very interested in growing their own food," she said.
To formally assess "the needs for gardens, shared garden space and gardening opportunities in the Greater Manchester area," the NH Common Ground Project (a partnership program of UNH Cooperative Extension 4-H and the Massabesic Audubon Center) is currently conducting a survey. Steed Mawson encourages all who would like to see more community/shared gardening opportunities in Manchester, NH, to fill out this survey, as the more the demand can be documented, the better the chances of acquiring resources to make such gardens a reality.
But acquiring resources like undeveloped land (which in Manchester is hard to come by), while vital, will not in and of itself be enough to make a community garden successful.
A community garden's success, she said, hinges on the level of support it receives from the community. Are neighbors willing to work together and learn from each other? Is the necessary infrastructure in place around the garden? Is there parking? Water? Shade? Bathrooms?
"Without support a community garden will flounder and fail," she said.
Reader Comments (3)
I highly recommend checking out the garden at the Massabesic Audubon Center. Very informative master gardeners and a lot of low cost, recyclable, and environmentally sound techniques.
This past summer I grew several tomatoe plants by hanging them in one of those topsy turvey hangers. The yield was bette than I got the year before when I grew the plants in the ground. I can't wait to try it again with even more plants :)
I've heard good things about the Audubon Center, PG. Thanks for the suggestion.
Maria, I've been curious about those hanging tomato baskets. You're the first person I've heard give a testimony about them. Glad to hear they work well.