Transition Stories: Yard Sharing!

Yard Sharing is a simple idea that is sweeping the country. It goes like this: many of us have yards but don’t have time to garden them. Others of us live in triple-deckers or apartment buildings and have no space to garden.

Enter Andree Zaleska of the JP Greenhouse who is making matches between gardeners and yard owners. Each transaction is individual, but the aim to is connect gardeners without yards, with homeowners who would like to volunteer their gardens to an urban grower, in exchange for a share of produce. If this sounds intriguing, fill in the form here at JP New Economy Transition, and we’ll try to make you a match!

Andree writes: “Four other families will be joining us in our garden this year, each taking a plot, and making JP Green House into a community garden. We range from ‘regular’ urban gardeners with hankerings for fresh tomatoes and strawberries, to a professional garden consultant experimenting with native pollinator plants, and an artist creating seed-sculptures. ”

Sign up  before June to participate: http://jptransition.org/jp-yard-sharing/

Andree says that many more Gardeners are wanted – there’s lots of unused land!

Here is what happens, Andree will suggest you get in touch with each other because you are nearby and share common interests, then you plan a visit at the site of the proposed garden, and discuss your needs and plans for the space. Consideration should be given to the following areas: Who provides? Is there a cost, and if so, who pays?

• Water
• Compost
• Mulch
• Fertilizer
• Tools
• Weeding, watering and general maintenance
• Soil Testing (you can send samples to UMASS, alternatively you could build raised beds with non-pressure treated lumber)

Whether or not money changes hands, or a deal is made about how much produce the landowner receives, it is good to lay out all expectations beforehand, and even draw up a contract for the arrangement. Here is a good article you might look at, to remind you what to consider in your arrangement: http://www.shareable.net/blog/how-to-share-vegetable-garden

If you have a really large yard and want to be part of an innovative farming start-up, then you should really reach out to Angela and Brian of Yardbirds (and on Facebook). They are working with urban clients with clean soil to plant out vegetables as part of a scattered-site urban CSA.

Keep track of these and other innovations with Transition Stories (our new blog on JPtransition.org, we will continue to cross-post these to JP  Patch too). And “like” Jamaica Plain New Economy Transition on Facebook to keep up with the conversation on all things Transition and find out about future events in JP (Movie Screening May 30th: Gasland).

Meanwhile, have you heard about natural bee keeping? Super cool: http://beenatural.wordpress.com/tag/bee-shelter/

Follow ideas like yard sharing and other sustainability practices at the JP NET blog.