I could add that there are ways to stream line the work. It will take experience, a willingness to accept change!, cooperation etc. In regards to weeds the trick is to out smart them. Using adequate mulch will snuff out the weeds and enrich the soil. In my home garden I used newspaper and then straw. It was labor intense as it is usually windy in the spring. I think I may go with just mulch next year. the birds had a field day poking holes and flinging newspaper while hunting their dinner. In the community garden ( 14 beds 4'x50') we just used mulch of dried grass thatch, pine needles, and straw. Depending on what we had that day and some on how think or dense we needed it. Onions got a light covering of straw as their tips were yellow from too much moisture. Some people chose to weed but I thought it was a waste of time. They complained they spent so much time weeding last year it was over whelming. Had they put the mulch on thick enough at the right time they would not have to weed. I actually got them to leave the plucked weeds in the beds to compost back into the soil. The weeds had not set seed. This also was a time saver of not adding it to a compost pile and flipping the compost. We have some compost piles that need tending to but time could be better spent having 1-2 raised beds for composting on a large scale. Those beds could be used the following year and then pick 2 other beds to enrich. The garden being new is very deficient organic matter. I don't like the idea of using all animal manure to enrich the soil as we are having problems with pH. To help with moisture control during germination I broke down and purchased a roll of light weight fabric cover. We did not have the drip water system installed( it is now) so we had to hand water daily. It also helped retain heat during the cold spring improving the growth rate. The beds are raised 2 ft off the ground with cement block which could have increased the heat. I don't like beds this high I think it hurts your back. I do think different people work at different speeds. Some love to chat and stand around and not do much. Some wasted work time went into wrapping sisal twine just so which should have been done a lot earlier. I did a few beds wrapping twine only to have another gardener unwrap it as it wasn't just right. So agreeing ahead of time which method is quickest, least labor intensive will help. Having a system of setting up poles to allow the climbing veges to climb would make a lot of sense. Since these were new beds there was no though to hole we could put pole holder in the ground to accept the chain link fence poles( recycled) or wooden stakes ( recycled from garden supply store). I also invested in garden netting for the crops to vine on. It was cheaper than sisal twing which will rot in 1-3 years. I went with a USA made netting guaranteed for lifetime. http://www.amazon.com/Dalen-Gardeneer-30-Foot-Trellis-TP-30C/dp/B000BZ8FXS/ref=pd_sim_ol_2 this is the best money I spent!!!! SO worth the $9. You have to take care taking it down but well worth it. It will take a few trial and errors to come up with the best methods. I also think the number of people will depend on how motivated the people are to eat good produce. It can be very hard to motivate people to join the ranks and sweat in the hot sun. It means there has to be a cheerleader! A people mover! There does seem to be some stragglers who want to learn organic gardening but need lots of direction, teaching, motivating. Lots of reading will help too in learning from different methods of gardening the teach labor saving methods but maintain the quality of the produce. I have been working on soil adjustments to increase my yield per amount of work put in. There is a problem with pH and over amount of something locking up the soil preventing from a bigger harvest. I'm working on it. I'm thinking less manure more kitchen compost. If you want more people you will have to steal them away from what else is keeping them occupied, yoga, kids soccer, housework, the gym, TV, Computer. You need a campaign to get more people. Maybe call the local news? Have them do a story on your need? How people can learn gardening, get an excellent work out. It may take a few seasons to build the people as it does to build the garden and retain the people too. The community garden I was working with started out with 40 volunteers, was down to 6 this spring and now has very very few. Due to differing beliefs I think. Just some thoughts Teresa > From: j...@frontier.net > To: jhain...@comcast.net; community_garden@list.communitygarden.org > Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:25:34 -0600 > Subject: Re: [Community_garden] How many workers do you need to > maintaina garden? > > The number of people it takes to raise a garden depends on various factors > such as these: > > 1. the garden area > 2. the technology and infrastructure available > 3. the diversity of crops raised > 4. the diligence and experience of the gardeners > 5. the soil condition > 6. the gardeners' years of experience > 7. environmental conditions such as precipitation, wind, heat, and length of > season > > There are also economies to scale. Two people can usually do more work in > one hour than one person can in two hours. A 200 sf space does not take > twice as much time to cultivate as a 100 sf space. > > Bottom line, there is a relationship between garden area and number of > workers, but it is not linear. > > To add to the message below, we ask each member to work two to three hours a > week (60 hours a season) in our community garden, and they each cultivate > 300 sf. The yield is about $600 in organic produce per member, and we have a > fairly low level of weeds. So 300 sf per person is manageable as a "hobby" > garden. > > On the other hand, I know of several small commercial gardens nearby where 2 > people work one acre. That's all they do for a living. In that case, it is > the ratio is 1 worker to 21,700 sf. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <jhain...@comcast.net> > To: <community_garden@list.communitygarden.org> > Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 4:21 PM > Subject: [Community_garden] How many workers do you need to maintaina > garden? > > > > We have a 5000 sq. ft. community garden of the type that is worked by a > > group of people, not individual plots. We haven't had nearly enough help > > this year and the garden is full of weeds and I'm sure isn't producing as > > well as it would with proper care. There are two of us who with the > > occasional help of a third person planted the garden from the end of May > > until mid July. It really should have all been planted by mid June. I > > think this garden should have at least ten regular people to tend it. That > > would be one person for every 500 sq. ft. I think that we could take care > > of a garden very well with that number and more would be even better of > > course. > > Judith Hainaut > > -------------- next part -------------- > > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > > URL: > > <http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20110811/09dba235/attachment.html> > > _______________________________________________ > > The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of > > ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and > > to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org > > > > To post an e-mail to the list: community_garden@list.communitygarden.org > > > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: > > http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > > signature database 6370 (20110811) __________ > > > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's > services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out > how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org > > To post an e-mail to the list: community_garden@list.communitygarden.org > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: > http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20110812/2f8de584/attachment.html> _______________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org
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