Community Gardens
 

Is anyboby interested to establish a community garden in The Villages where we can raise organic fruits & vegetables ?
I am willing to start a signature petition.
If only 1% of our community wants one, that constitutes 1,000 plots.
If The Villages are going to be the healthiest town in Florida,then we need something like that.

Where can I sign up? Perhaps a letter to some of the gardening clubs might help generate interest.

I would definitely be interested. I miss my organic garden up north.

I'm interested.

There already is a community garden in TV near the wood working shop but I believe it's mostly for charity.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...-garden-12569/

Its a nice large garden, but as you say its for charity. I'm sure there are many residents here who would be interested in small private plots where they could grow their own vegetables. I've read that some cities provide them for their citizens for a yearly fee that covers expenses such as providing water. I'd be willing to pay a modest fee if I could have access to a plot of land with watering capabilities.

Count us in!

Unless you are willing to travel outside the villages, where would you propose to put this garden? Somehow, I can't see the developer giving up any land suitable for gardening.

I thought Capt Hil was pretty clear that he is considering a petition to the developer. It's a grand idea, and it might catch on because it's loaded with positive media ops in addition to being a darn good idea. Hil is thoroughly a health nut and one who can lead a charge up the hill. (sorry about the Hil-hill thing...I got carried away...)

Right now there is a group looking for land to build a track for remote cars. Recreation dept is looking for a site. There is your competition.
Off-sit would probably work.

I would love an area to do some organic gardening. Might there be some sort of tax benefit for the developer for “agricultural use” of a piece of land that he is not currently using?

He does have land that I would guess is in "agricultural use" but the rigamarole that I envision from just reading this forum would be a huge challenge.

For instance;

water usage.
He overwatered and it drained unto my plot and killed my radishes.

property rights.
She tramped through my spring lettuce.

Dogs and pets.
They brought their dog and he/she watered my asparagus.

Community interaction
They planted mint and it has overtaken my sweet corn.

General angst.
Their sweet corn is shading my tomatoes.
Their garlic stinks.
They throw their compost in the trash. Compost is for compost.
They don't weed.
Someone picked my tomatoes.

I think Gary Morse is VERY, very wise.

Gracie, I think you nailed it!

Hey... maybe I could grow some herb for my glaucoma.

I don't know about that, but I have read of and seen many of these gardens during our travels. Generally people pay an annual fee, so there would be no cost to the Developer. Below is a link to community gardens in Vancouver. They are overseen by local community groups (our garden clubs perhaps?), not by the City, so any complaints are handled by the group in charge. It would be nice if the idea were given a chance. In Vancouver, there are many more applicants to have one of the spots in the gardens, than there is space available. In other words, they are very popular. I suspect the same would hold true here.


http://vancouver.ca/people-programs/community-gardens.aspx

Several years ago, a local land owner approached Garden Club North with this very idea of providing land for a community garden. He was prepared to remove the grass, divide the area into parcels and provide water for a very reasonable fee, and I cannot remember what that amount was; but, there were no takers for his suggestion, the main reason being it was not golf cart accessible! The Garden Club North may still have his information if anyone would like to open this idea again.

If you have tried organic gardening in Florida you will know it is very difficult, the bugs in Florida are very different from the bugs in the Northern States.

Golf cart accessible surely would be desirable. There are organizations that assist those setting up community gardens, rules, and so on. If there was enough interest, there might be organic community gardens, along with non-organic.

There was one in my mom and dads retirement town in south Florida but if you wanted to spray your patch you could, so long as it didn't affect the neighbors plot. Mom had her more sensitive to bug stuff in the middle so she could hit it if needed and was careful of what she used. I also seem to remember lots of slug drowning beer traps were needed. Totally Organic was not required but then that was years ago when people were less aware of the harm.

I think this is a very wise observation, Gracie. You have a very keen mind for business decisions!

Equadog I think this is a very wise observation. I think you nailed it!

Community gardens have been successfully in existence for some time now in many cities throughout the country. For it to happen here, I believe you need three things: 1. A community group willing to handle oversight of the planning, development and construction of said garden(s); land with watering capability and golf cart accessible must be secured; there has to be a demonstrated need/desire by a large enough group of residents for it to happen. Once completed it would be a thing of beauty that could be another feather in the Developer's cap as far as showing off the benefits of The Villages as a forward thinking retirement community.

I would think that if community gardens have been successful all over the USA they coukd be successful here as well. People can and do work together to accomplish shared goals. I am sure that there will be obstacles along the way but with a positive attitude much can be accomplished. A good starting point may be to see exactly how other communities put it all together. As a gardener, myself, I can see that Florida conditions will impose some tough challenges, but what gardener is not up to the quest!

I like your optimism Happydaz!

Has anybody gotten an idea like this supported before? How do you go about it? Is a petition the right direction?

I have a garden center on 301 and 466, i'd be interested in helping. I have a total 13 acres and would be willing to host events as well as allow sections to be used for organic gardening. the property is irrigated and ready for your suggestions!

There you go guys! Unbelievably generous offer ricklowe. What is the name of your garden center? I can't place it on 301 and 466. Regardless, I hope this works for the people who don't want to garden on Rolling Acres for the soup kitchen and food pantry. This could be wonderful for them. Thank you, ricklowe.

I have a 3 acre garden center with an additional 10 acres of irrigated land on 301 just south of 466. it would be a perfect location with existing infrastructure to start a community program like this. I've wanted to host something like this for years. If anyone is interested is pursuing this further please feel free to contact me.

Would I be correct or incorrect to assume [and I hate doing that] that the property you offer is not golf cart accessible?

If it is not, how close can one get before they have to go on foot to the location?

Exterior spaces 11031 n hwy 301 it's about 1/2 mile south of 466 on the East side.. The villages bought the property across the street and will start developing 542 homes for people who work in the villages. The only down side is that there is no golf cart access.

i'm not interested in making money on this I think it would be fun and also be a great worthwhile program!

i'm about 1 mile from the buffalo ridge Walmart

I could also see a farmers market that would somehow help people in need. Just a thought.

What a great guy.

I can't see why golf cart accessible would be a great problem.

Good for you.

I'm over-celebrating. This is the OP's first post and look at how this thread took wings! Hil's one of our newbie singles and my neighbor in Gilchrist, and he is teaching me some things about raw and organic nutrition. I hope the offer of a plot works out..totally awesome, RickLowe!

bump

no, my place is on 301 less than a mile from buffalo ridge Walmart to the South of 466. I've talked to several produce markets over the last 6 months regarding opening a new location. I've had special events there over the years with thousands attending. Next year i'll be hosting food and wine events as well I think having TV residence growing organic produce fall directly in line with my future plans i'd love to not only use some of the property for this purpose but help manage it as well!

Rick that is a wonderful idea to offer some land for gardening. You certainly got me thinking. I am new to vegetable gardening in Florida. I have a lot of learning to do. I could see growing lettuce, radishes, cabbage, broccoli, etc., in the fall and winter. Summer seems problematic as the tomatoes we grew up north didn't set fruit when the temperatures got up high in the nineties. Maybe you know of varieties that can grow here successfully in the summer. A plot around 10 by 10 feet would be good for me. I am still entertaining thoughts on this. We will have to see what others think.

Rick that is a wonderful offer. My spouse and I are going to check out your place!...thank you so much. With our small lot size, and deed restrictions, we have done a little container gardening and that's about it. It would be wonderful to be able to put some veggies in the ground like we did up north. I'm sure the seasons are different here, and we need to learn about all the Florida bugs and pests and so on, but we're up for the challenge!

The more that participate the easier it will be to make a realty the land and irrigation are only a small part of the pie. I have a tractor that we could use for some of the preparation for outdoor planting, there are some master gardeners in the villages and the university of Florida has approached me in the past. I'm going to reach out to them again to see what they think.