Community is where the heart is — romaine hearts, celery hearts and artichoke hearts! Our neighborhoods are, in the truest sense, where the things we cherish grow and thrive. Throughout San Diego County, in more than 80 active spaces, community gardens are measures of what we value and what we need: healthy, homegrown fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs; physical activity; interpersonal connections among those with common interests; the beauty of being surrounded by a vibrant, living space; somewhere to learn new skills and share ideas. A community garden is also a peaceful harbor where kids can work alongside parents and develop an appreciation for the place we call home — our community.
By nature a collaborative effort, community gardens, whether they occupy underutilized spaces in the city, more rural, open land, rooftops or plots adjacent to a nonprofit entity, all need participants to share in the garden’s maintenance if it is to thrive and succeed. In some areas, community gardeners share in the harvest; in others, each plot is designated for an individual or family to cultivate for personal use.
San Diego has seen a renewed interest in community gardens over the last 30 years, and new ones are opening up regularly. Some of the gardens in our area are free, but many, such as the new Sweetwater Community Garden in Bonita, a 200 raised-bed project supported by the County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation, require an affordable user fee. Like the plants they cultivate, the community garden movement is growing, too. Plans are in the works for new community gardens throughout the county, including La Mesa, Ocean Beach and Skyline Hills.
Most community gardens are open in their concept, in that each raised bed or plot can be cultivated as the participant sees fit. Others have a designated purpose or serve as a cultural growing center for new immigrants who have brought their love of gardening with them. The New Roots Fresh Farm Community Garden in El Cajon and the New Roots Community Farm near City Heights, collaborations between the International Rescue Committee and Kaiser Permanente, provide space for those immigrants and refugees adjusting to new surroundings who are looking to grow food common in their homelands but difficult to find at the corner grocery store.
The benefits of successful community gardens are well documented by research scientists and organizations, such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), as positive contributors to both the individual gardener and the neighborhood supporting the local effort. The CDC points out that communities hosting a shared garden space may see a revitalization of industrial and vacant properties, a strengthening of bonds among neighbors, an improvement in appearance of the neighborhood and a multitude of opportunities for individuals to grow and learn. Additionally, community gardens are seen as great for the environment as they form regenerative farming, or carbon sinking, reduce greenhouse gases and contribute to the biodiversity of species by attracting birds and insects that are essential for pollination and control of destructive insects.
Scientists have even written on the psychological benefits of gardening. Dr. Charlie Hall, endowed chair of International Horticulture at Texas A&M University reports, “There are a lot of psychological benefits to gardening, particularly in terms of stress levels. The cortisol (stress hormone) levels in the body are dramatically reduced whenever people are engaging in gardening and landscaping.”
Most community gardens insist on organic farming. That is true of the more than 40 community gardens supported by the UCCE San Diego County Master Gardener Program. The Master Gardener Community Garden mentors provide assistance with advice on plant selection, including seasonal varieties available, plant growth and development, composting/mulching, pruning and Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a means of managing the fungi, bacteria and insects that often damage plants and deplete harvests. IPM emphasizes an integrated approach of prevention, including the use of mechanical, biological, cultural and least-toxic chemical controls over the sole use of chemicals.
A community garden’s harvest can enhance a family’s meals and often provides the only source of fresh fruits and vegetables in urban areas sometimes referred to as “food deserts.” Improving diet improves overall health, and giving kids the chance to experience the crisp snap of a fresh garden pea right from the vine or the unique sweetness of a ripe, juicy strawberry, homegrown and handpicked, is a way to introduce the habit of eating fruits and vegetables to children who may not understand where their food comes from. Children are more likely to try a new fruit or vegetable if they have had a hand in growing it themselves.
In some community gardens, the satisfaction of sharing the blessings of the garden goes beyond the personal. Local food pantries are the beneficiaries of the excess bounty grown in local shared garden spaces. In return, food pantries make available their unused and unusable produce for community garden composting piles. The mutual benefit of sharing, learning and growing up healthy, on display in a neighborhood’s shared gardening space, is the very definition of community.
Every year the UCCE Master Gardener Program of San Diego County partners with the San Diego Community Garden Network to host the annual Community Garden Coordinator’s Day — an event celebrating community garden managers as well as a forum for networking, sharing ideas, successes and challenges. If you are interested in creating a community garden or want to be plugged into an existing garden, please contact the Master Gardener Hotline at help@mastergardenerSD.org.
Sandford is a UCCE Master Gardener. Get live gardening advice on the Master Gardeners’ hotline, (858) 822-6910, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays.