Benson Community GardenBenson, Nebraska

The Douglas County Health Department kindly spearheaded and compiled their long-awaited “toolkit” – a resource for those interested in starting a community garden. We’d been hearing about it for a long time, and began to think it may be mythological like unicorns or El Chupacabra. But – as promised – this afternoon it was released on their website …and it’s jam packed with information, answering many of our questions.

The PDF on their website it about 8 megs. Click HERE to download it.

We took the liberty of downloading it, running some PDF optimization (file-crunching) software on it and uploaded it to our servers. If you’d like a <3 meg version of it, click HERE.

Many thanks to Mary, Patty and Connie at the DCHD for taking the time to put this document together!

Starting any new adventure inspires so many questions. The other community gardeners have been so very helpful. This morning we emailed our list to the Community Garden Network here in Omaha to see what they say. If you have been involved in a garden, please join the conversation. To “pay it forward,” the responses will be compiled and shared with any other person or organization looking to start a garden. Thank you!

PUBLIC vs. PRIVATE

• Which gardens in the metro are hosted on private land?
• Which gardens in the metro are on public land?
• Which gardens are associated with another organization?
• Can gardens be created on city property (Parks, OHA, etc.)?

PERMITS

• Do community gardens require any special permits?
• If gardeners want to sell their extra produce at an area farmers market, do they need a permit?
• If a garden wishes to donate their extra produce to a charity, which ones accept?

ORGANIZATION

• What organizational structure (boards, committees, etc.) works best for a community garden?
• Is obtaining 501(c)(3) status difficult and/or necessary?
• Are gardens required to incorporate with the State of Nebraska?

SEASONS & HOURS

• What are reasonable hours of operation?
• When should a garden be ready (spring) and when should it close (autumn)?

PLOTS

• What size garden plots are common?
• How much space between garden plots?
• Raised bed gardens?
• Should the sod be removed or tilled under?
• Any special things the garden should offer? (tomato cages, trellis, etc.)

MARKETING

• What are successful ways for gardens to find gardeners?

FUNDING

• What do Omaha gardens charge for their plots? (month/year)
• What types of funds are available to supports gardens?
• Which grants will support a community garden?
• What type of fund raisers are successful?

PLANTS

• For the first time gardener, which plants are good to recommend?
• Any plants that should be forbidden or discouraged?
• Which fruit trees do well in this climate?
• How long until a fruit tree typically bears fruit?

WATER

• If we collect run-off water into large tanks (and keep replenished via homeowner’s hose) an acceptable means of providing water?
• How do gardeners transport the water from tanks to their plots?
• Any other options?

TOOLS

• Should the garden have gardening tools available for the gardeners?
• If so, which tools (and how many of each)?

COMPOSTING/MAINTENENCE

• What is an effective method of composting?
• Does the compost pile/structure have any special considerations? (Placement, etc.)
• Who takes care of the common area/aisles in the garden? (mowing, etc.) Landowner? Garden Organization?

BEES

• Should a community garden host bee hives?
• If so, any special concerns/considerations?

SECURITY

• How do you keep thieves from stealing gardeners’ vegetables?
• How do you keep vandals off the property?
• How do you keep dogs out of the garden?

INSURANCE & LIABILITY

• Where should a garden go to purchase insurance?
• How much coverage is enough?
• Any recommendations on reducing liability for the landowner and/or garden organization?

ANYTHING ELSE?

• If you have any other advice you are willing to share, we completely appreciate it!

This afternoon we received an email from Midwest Laboratories with the garden’s soil analysis report.

Click HERE for the details.

Hy-Vee grocery stores just shot up another level higher on the “cool meter.” Three of the metro area Hy-Vees will host gardens, where they’ll grow veggies, etc. to sell in their stores.

The space pictured here (at Peony Park Hy-Vee) will be a 7,500 square foot garden.

Congrats and kudos to Hy-Vee Stores!

If you are interested in gardening, volunteering, advising, or sponsoring our community garden, please fill out THIS FORM. Thank you!

NO CHARGE

The bill arrived from Thompson, Dreessen & Dorner – and they were as good as their word!

“We like the idea that you are contributing to the Benson Community. (I will bill you at or below cost should the lot corners be missing and we have to spend an inordinate amount of time on site)…”

Thanks again to TD2 and their crew for supporting the community garden!

Coming Soon!

My daughters Gabby and Daphne helped me paint the temporary “Coming Soon” sign for the garden. This morning, after it dried I headed down to post it – not even two minutes went by – and our neighbor directly across the street came up to introduce himself. Turns out Jason had the exact same idea for the land! And he’s interested in joining our team.

Jason has had successful gardens at his home and gave me a quick tour of his property.

Not even two minutes and community-building has happened. Welcome, Jason …and thank you to everyone who has already reached out to make this garden a reality.

-Kurt

Benefits of Community Gardening
(From the NORTHWEST OHIO COMMUNITY GARDEN RESOURCE GUIDE)
Community Gardening has many benefits and the greater the effort, the bigger the reward to the participants and surrounding neighborhood. A number of benefits listed by community gardeners include:

• Grows neighborhood leaders
• Keeps neighbors watching out for one another
• Provides an activity for neighbors to work together
• Feeds people and saves money
• Fosters healthier communities
• Supports physical fitness
• Improves nutrition
• Removes possible health and safety hazards
• Reduces stress
• Preserves cultural heritage
• Provides places for children to play and learn
• Increases self-esteem, bolsters confidence and encourages learning
• Teaches patience
• Reduces crime
• Puts land to good use
• Turns an eyesore into a productive and attractive area

It’s always great to see the Omaha By Design newsletter. The March 2011 issue [click HERE] was especially exciting to read …they put in a blurb about Goetzinger Gardens!

For those unfamiliar with Omaha by Design, here’s a little about them and the great work they do for our community:

Omaha by Design is a civic planning organization dedicated to the development, implementation and monitoring of urban design and environmental public policy in the metro. The organization facilitates partnerships between the public, private and philanthropic sectors to execute projects that improve the quality of Omaha’s natural and built environments.

Omaha by Design WEBSITE

Omaha by Design FACEBOOK

Today we mailed letters to the neighbors, alerting them of our intention to start Goetzinger Gardens community garden this year …and inviting them to participate if they’re interested.