Book Review: A Handbook of Community Gardening

Naimark, Susan (ed.). A Handbook of Community Gardening By Boston Community Gardeners. New York: Scribner's, 1982.

The Handbook of Community Gardening by Boston Urban Gardeners is a collection of chapters and essays on various aspects of community gardening. It contains 5 parts:

• An Introduction to Community Gardening - covers what a community garden is and the history of community gardening
  
• From Idea to Reality - how to organize a community garden and find the resources you need
• Site Selection and Development - finding land, laying out the garden, soil, compost, water, fencing, and landscape planning
• Tending the Garden - plants, maintenance, dealing with vandalism, and more
• Beyond the Garden: Developing Local Food Systems - alternatives to owning land, farmers' markets, food co-ops, permaculture, and more

It also includes some great tables: Cost Estimates for a Community Garden (actual costs are out of date, but it's a great list of what you need to budget for), Recycling Resources (what kinds of recycled resources you can use and where to get them), Sources of Funding for Community Gardens, Guidelines for Proposal Writing, Common Natural Fertilizers (with nutrient content), and The Fifteen Most Nutritious Vegetables You Can Grow.

I'm preparing to organize my first community garden, and I found this book really helpful. It includes great practical information on issues to consider and steps to take, as well as some of the philosophy behind community gardening.

The book appears to be out of print. Try your library, or follow the link below to purchase a used copy from Amazon.



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Posted by Janet to Rainy Day Gardening - Books at 10/26/2005 09:01:00 PM