Willie Streeter Community Garden

There are many ways that you can garden. We often fall into a trap that tells us that you have to own a home and have a lot of land to garden, and that just isn't the case. My husband and I rent a duplex in a neighborhood in a suburban university town (Go IU!). Our yard floods every time it rains, so even if we owned our yard, it wouldn't be ideal for a vegetable garden... (maybe a nice rice field though).  My friend Victoria also lives in a rented apartment so for us the best option was to rent a community garden plot.

In Bloomington, there are several options for garden plots and we picked the community garden that was closest to Victoria called Willie Streeter Garden. There are some benefits of this specific garden, they have bigger plots and provide tools, water and tomato cages. They also have garden experts that are there during certain times each week. This community garden is run by the city of Bloomington. These plots are $62 for the rental of April-the end of October. The only other community garden that I am familiar with is Hilltop Garden through Indiana University. They also have tools, water, and tomato cages available for all gardens. Those plots can be rented for $50 from April-end of October, but they are smaller. Both places are great to work with and well maintained.

Another benefit to gardening in a community garden is all the people you meet. Victoria and I aren't very experienced gardeners and there will be days when we might need to talk with people who know more than us. We are excited to get to know people that are passionate about growing food. I know we will learn a lot this year.

If you live in an apartment and the idea of having a garden plot scares you, why not try container gardening first?  Start some herbs in your kitchen that you always use in cooking. Learn how to dry or freeze them. Take note of how much work goes into just a few potted plants and think about what it would be like to tend an acre of land or hundreds of acres.

Excited to share a book review with you tomorrow.