Starting a Community Garden

by Lauren Bailey, Director of Garden Programs

Over the years, we’ve witnessed the benefits of community gardens firsthand. Participants tell us they experience improved physical and mental health as well as a stronger sense of belonging. One of nearly 70 community garden participants in our programs last year told us this: “To know that I have the power to grow my own food if I want to is definitely life-changing.” 

But in addition to participants in our own programs, we also hear from folks who want to start community gardens of their own. If you’re interested in assembling a group and inspiring change, as we are, then here are a few good places to start:  

1) Get started by measuring interest and bringing people together. If you’re working to organize a new community garden, gathering folks together to understand common goals and motivations could be a great place to start. Much like gardening, there are different approaches and strategies that folks use. What has been helpful for our planning and implementation is to have an understanding of why we believe community gardens are important. After years of stewarding a few different community gardens, we’ve seen themes emerge as our “why”. Since the work involves stewardship of land and organizing people, we’ve found that in addition to knowing why you want to garden, having realistic expectations of what it takes to maintain the community garden is key to success. 

2) Identifying land. Maybe you have your eye on a slice of land behind your church or school, or maybe you want to grow on government or private property? You’ll first want to assess the land and make sure it is suitable for growing (more about that later). Then you’ll want to learn the types of gardening allowed on the land by zoning codes. You can find more information about zoning in this guide: A Guide for Growing Food in Nashville- Nashvitality. This will determine whether (and what type of) permit is needed. If you don’t own the land, you’ll also want to draw up an agreement with the land owner that specifies what you’re allowed to do and for what duration. Examples of agreements can be found on this website: American Community Garden Association. 

Having trouble identifying land for your garden? In Nashville, the Ag Extension is working closely with several other Metro Departments to help residents of Davidson County utilize some of the flood buy-back properties to start up community gardens, but know that gardening on these properties presents some challenges. Aside from the risk of flooding, there are restrictions on building structures on these properties. Contact the Ag Extension to learn more about what properties may be available. 

3) Invest time up front in designing and planning your garden. While gardening can be as simple as starting a seed in the ground, the task can become more nuanced when you are sharing space, resources or have a collaborative effort to grow food. 

Brene’ Brown says, “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” Sometimes the planning process can be messy and ever-evolving. And the commitment to getting “clear” requires transparency and trust.

Here are some questions we encourage people to consider while planning a community garden:

  • Who will be involved? Who will lead?

    • Defining who is involved in this garden is key! 

    • Who will be taking care of the garden? Do you have a committed individual or group of individuals who will take on the primary responsibility of gardening?

  • What tasks will be shared? Who will be responsible?

    • We recommend having a detailed list of responsibilities: watering, harvesting, and weeding being the main tasks involved. 

  • How do you want to involve people in the work? What resources, events or education do you want to connect people to?

    • Do you want to have allotment style plots where folks grow on their own space? Or more of a communal effort where people contribute to one garden?

  • Where is the produce going?

    • We’d encourage you to create a plan for the produce. In our gardens, community gardeners take home the vegetables from their plots. At our McGruder Community Garden, we have a free stand where folks can share their excess produce.

  • How do you stay motivated?

    • We see a lot of excitement at the beginning of the season and then weeds and heat and pests happen. What is your plan to keep people excited? How do you stay motivated?

  • Determine how the garden will be funded. Will you apply for grants? Will it be underwritten by a company or individual? Will gardeners cover costs collectively, and if so, how will payment be collected? 

4) Know your soil and land. Before even breaking ground, starting with an understanding of your soil and the health of it is important. 

  • What is your land like? And who owns the land? Answering this ranges from the physical space that you have available to understanding the expectations for how the space needs to be kept. 

    • Have you tested the soil? Make a plan for how to keep your soil healthy.

    • Do you want to do raised bed gardens or grow in the ground?  

    • Do you have a water source available? 

    • How much space do you want to start with?

5) Get Started! Sometimes the hardest part is getting started. Start small, rather than not starting at all. Maybe your vision or plan isn’t fully formed. Maybe you need more time to build raised beds or prepare the soil. If that’s the case, start with what you have where you have it. And keep up the momentum!

Here are some other resources and organizations that we’d recommend you check out: 

One of the best ways to learn about community gardens is to get your hands dirty. Sign up to volunteer in our gardens and learn first hand about growing in the community!