With so much up in the air dealing with COVID19, I am soothed knowing the ground beneath my feet is here for me.

Gardening can be a great escape that also keeps you:
going outside and getting sun,
moving while the gyms are closed,
feeding you healthy food,
…which all seem like pretty good reasons to go ahead and plant a (bigger) garden this Spring!

Let’s Dig In!

Victory Gardens were a sign of national patriotism back in the days between WWI and WWII.

Even schools had gardens, which I am happy to say was already well on it’s way to making a comeback! This school garden influx is tied with the national push for Farm to School eating in school lunches!

Those home gardens focused on quick to perish or easy to store at home foods. Home Grown veggies could be found in over half of American’s lawns for a few years! To put that into numbers, “by 1944, an estimated 20 million victory gardens produced roughly 8 million tons of food—which was the equivalent of more than 40 percent of all the fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States,” according to the History Channel.

The Agricultural Departments also urged us to keep our chickens, ‘two for each family member’ and I’d be happy to help you get started with that too I’ve got an article, Chickens in the Hood all about that!

During these uncertain times, I simply feel better knowing I am doing something (anything) to prepare and plan for the future. Of course, I already loved growing food, so growing more makes sense. For those of you not used to digging in and planting there are a few tips to get you planting a successful garden.

Basic Garden Tips

• Plant what you will eat.

• Plant in the sun, near water if possible.

• Fence it in, because critters want to eat fresh veggies too.

• Add compost, good soil matters.

• Grow Vertically to keep the garden footprint small.

Plant Diversity

Consider planting a few fast growing crops like greens (lettuce, spinach) and more expensive herb plants- which also are things that you need to keep going to a store to keep buying ‘fresh’. Beets, radishes, kohlrabi and kale are all ready to harvest in 45 days. Bush beans are another crop that is ready in 60 days, and beans are truly one of the easiest plants to grow!

Or try something like cucumbers that most families love- and if you get too many, quick refrigerator pickles keep well- or go all out and make homemade pickles and slowly become just as addicted to homegrown as I am

There are also lots of plants to grow inside, from salad gardens to microgreens. This is also still time to start some seeds indoors, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, kale. Only onions, celery and peppers are really past their prime for starting indoors.

The satisfaction of knowing you’ve got a plan feels almost as good it will to pick that first ripe green bean, carrot or tomato later this summer. If you want to really go for it you can plant two crops in a row of many crops (yes even in Minnesota). This technique is called succession planting.

Why Garden

For most of us, gardening is a leisure activity, and I think there’s a very good reason gardening ahs been on the rise right along side technology use and stress- because it decreases stress and gets us into the real world. In real time.

Right now, with so many things are out of our control, this is one way to work with the rhythm of nature and take back a little control over our food in a way that keeps us healthy on so many levels!

Watch my FREE YOUTUBE Video on Garden Planning

Get a Garden Plan

So, I urge you to start a garden, even a tomato in a pot, a few feet of climbing beans or a salad garden this spring. If you want to learn more about putting in a sustainable vegetable garden, I’ve got an array of in person and online classes available, check my SHOP to register.

But keep in mind that plants want to grow, that’s their job! If you give them soil, sun, water and protection from animals, the plants will reward you for your help!

Dig In!
-Michelle

The post Modern Victory Gardens for All appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

Community Garden workday. This plot in-between a parking lot and a street grows food for a food shelf and was one of my first blogs.

Community Gardens

These gardens have the ability to take a single piece of land, work its soil collectively and deepen our growth both as individuals and part of our local community. With more people living in housing with limited or yard space, these kinds gardens are rapidly growing.

Like most things that develop organically, community gardens are as varied as the communities they take root in. The one thing all community gardens offer is garden space for gardeners to grow. It’s the ‘who, what, where, when, why and how’ that makes each garden unique.

These gardens find their homes on city, county, school district, faith based and privately owned land. Just like the kinds of produce grown, there are an infinite number of combinations and variations of garden structures limited only by the organizers’ imaginations.

The University of Minnesota’s horticultural department recently published a guide to starting a community garden and wanted to share it HERE!

Minneapolis Community Gardens

The City of Minneapolis runs eight community gardens, and has land set aside for double that in the upcoming years! Follow the link to find out more about getting  a plot at one of these maintained community gardens!
Minneapolis Community Garden Link 

Ramsey County Community Gardens

Ramsey County’s List of current Community Gardens includes 8 locations, plus a link to find the many housed within the city of St. Paul- in general these are pretty well scattered throughout the county. Find a LISTING of gardens or click on the:
Ramsey County Community  Garden MAP

Local Community Gardens

Below are a few favorite Metro community gardens where you’ll learn from others and grow so much more than food.

Edgerton Community Gardens

New gardener registration is available online if you want to nab a plot or a raised bed here. You can rent either a 12’ x 15’ plot or 4’ x 8’ raised bed (eighteen inches height, priority for raised beds will be given to those with self-reporting mobility issues, though not wheelchair accessible) for $25-35. Their season runs April 27-October 24. 

Oasis Park in Roseville

This is the largest rentable community garden I found, with 120 garden plots measuring 15’X20’. The single plots are rented for between $20-$30. Registration opens to all Roseville residents on April 2 and opens to all on April 16. Garden is open for planting May 1- October 31. Mark your calendars!

Tatum Park Community Garden

Tatum Park Community Garden is on Taylor Ave in the Hamline Midway neighborhood of St. Paul, just west of Newell Park. There are 20 plots and about 3/4 of the members are returning.  There’s a Facebook page too! Or email to grab the last of those garden plots! Their annual meeting is usually scheduled for late April. You can also email tatumparkgarden@gmail.com directly.

White Bear Area YMCA Community Garden

YMCA Gardeners grew a beautiful variety of flowers and vegetables last season!

Set on the grounds of an old skate park, the garden is greening up this piece of black top.

You can contact the YMCA front desk at 651-777-8103 or message me directly to reserve a plot.

Mahtomedi Community Gardens

The Mahtomedi Community Garden on the first day of Spring, 2018

These gardens sit behind the District Education Center building on a sunny expanse of land. These are popular garden beds, measuring in at 9’X11.5’ go for $40 each. To register, follow this LINK. These gardens were lovingly started by a couple of dedicated teachers over a decade ago- thank you teachers! At least one plot is always reserved for the Mahtomedi Food Shelf. Way to grow Mahtomedi!

Health Partners Community Garden

Health Partners WBL Clinic garden all prepped and spring planted!

It just seems right that a health clinic should have access to fresh vegetables, right?!

Well some visionary Doctors and staff decided to make it happen a few years ago and the garden has been growing, and sharing its produce with the White Bear Food Shelf ever since. They have a great space and good workplace involvement, and are considering expanding this season again. This garden is maintained by the staff at the Health Partners clinic as a way to build their own community, and ‘be the change’.

Sumner Park Community Garden

Community gardens are inspiring people to get growing all across this beautiful land of ours, hopefully I’ve inspired you to look into a way you can get involved in a community garden near you!

If you happen to have space on your own lot for another garden bed, and you want to grow more food FOR your community, consider starting a giving garden of your own!

I’ve got serious Spring Fever and can’t wait to Dig In!

Michelle

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