Digging in the Dirt
Want to garden but don’t have the space? Community gardens offer
land — and more — so you can grow-your-own
By: David Levine
Published May 15, 2009 at 01:31 PM
Green thumbs: CDCG Garden Coordinators Jenny
Lippmann (left) and Tara Hotis tend to the plants at
the Lincoln Park garden in Albany
Photograph by
Daniel Addeo
 It
was big news. Really big news. Front-page-of-the-New-York-Times big
news. Right next to headlines on AIG bonuses, pension fraud, and
violence in Gaza, there was this: “Obamas to Eat Local Produce
(Really Local).”
Yes, beets
battled bailouts for public attention, as the First Lady and her
First Children wielded the First Shovel and announced the first
White House vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt’s World War II
Victory Garden. Now that’s change we can believe in.
Indeed,
the Obamas have tapped into the national horticultural zeitgeist.
For a number of reasons — a spate of contaminated foods, a push for
healthier eating habits, and most recently, the imploding economy —
home gardening is more popular than ever. But not everyone has the
space, expertise, or adequate sunshine to plant a garden. For those
people, there are community gardens.
If you’re
not familiar with the concept, community gardens are large patches
of land owned by state or local municipalities, nonprofit groups,
educational facilities, and the like. These patches are divided into
individual plots and rented out to anyone with a gardening jones.
Mrs. Obama has sung the praises of the idea: “I’m a big believer in
community gardens, both because of their beauty and for their access
to providing fresh fruits and vegetables to so many communities
across this nation and the world,” she has said.
Her garden
isn’t technically a community garden — you can’t rent a plot on the
White House grounds to plant your heirloom tomatoes. But there are
several community gardens in the Hudson Valley where you can.
community garden sign
 One
of the biggest and oldest is the Capital District Community Gardens.
Based in Troy, the CDCG was formed in 1975 and now manages 46
gardens in Albany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady counties. Last year,
those gardens were divided into about 900 individual plots. “But we
needed many more this year,” says Executive Director Amy Klein, “so
we divided many of the plots in half.” (Veteran gardeners get a 500-
to 600-square-foot plot; because of demand, new gardeners get
250-300 square feet.) The group has been flooded with requests for
space. “We keep a list of people interested in us. This year we had
about 300 people on the list, when normally it’s about 75,” she
said. “The phones are ringing off the hook.”
Typically,
members of a community garden are allowed to grow anything they’d
like — as long as it’s not an invasive plant (such as mint) which
could overrun other gardeners’ plots, or a large tree that might
block sunlight. The CDCG asks for a donation of $20 for each plot.
“As a nonprofit, we rely on donations, along with fund-raising and
grants,” Klein says. They can assist those who can’t afford the $20,
and they encourage well-to-do weed-whackers to give more.
Gardeners
get more than dirt and sunshine. The CDCG also provides tools, seeds
and seedlings, mulch, water, fencing to keep critters away, and
plenty of classes and mentors to help the new gardener succeed.
community gardener
 The
same is true at many other community gardens. In Putnam County, for
example, the county parks division runs the Tilly Foster Community
Gardens. It has 123 plots that cost $40 each. Corina Hohenstein is
both a park ranger and a gardener. She says that staff members “get
to know most of the other gardeners. We exchange plants and advice.
There’s a real community spirit.”
Of course,
community spirit can be, well, spirited. “Here in the office we
often do less gardening and more social work,” Klein says with a
sigh. Border disputes are common. Gardeners call to complain that
their neighbor’s sunflowers are shading their peppers, or that
foreign cucumber vines are encroaching on their cauliflower. “People
are very territorial, and they sometimes forget they are in a
community garden and what that means,” Klein says. “It’s very
different than gardening at home, and we try to tell people that
when they sign up.”
But for
every childish argument, Klein also has a story about bonding and
friendship. Gardeners meet and marry. Neighbors who’d never met
before form clubs and neighborhood watch groups. “The story that
touches my heart the most is about a gardener we had who was very
ill with COPD,” she says. “The man had to garden with an oxygen
tank. He had no relatives nearby. His garden was his home, and the
friends he made there were his family.
“When he
passed away, we had a memorial service in the garden,” Klein
continues. “Someone played guitar. Others chipped in and bought a
memorial bench engraved with his name. This was in downtown Troy,
and there were Russian immigrant gardeners who spoke very little
English, but they tried to speak about him. It was one of the most
memorable things in my life. It really hit home what these gardens
mean to people. It’s so much more than just gardening. For him, it
meant life.”
Know
Where to Grow
Most
community gardens have filled up by now, but if you’re interested in
more information, try one of these organizations. They might still
have a plot available.
Capital District Community Gardens
Troy, 518-274-8685
Maintains 46 gardens in Albany, Cohoes, Latham, North Greenbush,
Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Troy. Also operates street tree
planting and urban landscaping programs.
Bard College Community Garden
Annandale-on-Hudson
Anyone is welcome to work, weed, and eat from this 8,000-square-foot
communal garden. During the summer, the group holds potluck work
parties every Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Chatham Community Garden at Crellin Park
Chatham, 518-392-3353
Offers 15 300-square-foot plots, a food pantry garden, gardening
classes, and a six-week kids program beginning in July.
Cornell Cooperative Extension, Dutchess County/Green Teen
Community Gardening Program
Poughkeepsie: 845-485-2564, Beacon: 845-831-4287
A year-round community gardening program for youth ages 7-21 in
Poughkeepsie and Beacon.
Gardens For Nutrition
New Paltz
Rents out 300- and 600-square-foot plots. Mentors are available for
gardening advice.
Vassar Community Gardens
Poughkeepsie, 845-437-7270
Originally a World War II victory garden, this Vassar Farm property
now has 120 plots available to local residents.
Stony Kill Foundation
Wappingers Falls, 845-831-8780 ext. 310
Offers 84 400-square-foot plots for rent. “Bugs, Weeding, and Water
Conservation” class will be held June 21 and July 22 at 10 a.m.
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