Believe it or not, we're operating our Community Roots project from a rental home. We moved in in the fall of 2005 and this is where the whole idea started. One day, looking out upon the back yard I thought about how we could grow veggies here in the backyard, and then we could find willing neighbors in our area to offer us their backyard for growing vegetables. If we could find enough backyards, maybe we could grow enough vegetables to sell at market to support ourselves financially. We could also start a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program right here in the neighborhood...YES!!!

Steven's Garden (~600 square feet)

Steven may have been the first to reply to our plea for garden space back in 2006. He happily offered a patch of his back yard and we quickly went to work. While not the largest or most productive of the gardens, Steven's garden patch is a consistent plot in our array! Steven lives across the street from us...about a 100 yard walk or bike ride.

Michael's Garden (~900 square feet)

Michael responded in 2006 and offered up his yard. We agreed that his backyard is too shady, but thought that maybe his front yard might work. We went for it, and in 2006 Michael's yard produced a heap of food - enough to encourage us that we should keep forging ahead with even larger plans for 2007. Perhaps most importantly, gardening in Michael's front yard gave the project a great amount of visibility. Once people began to learn about the project, more and more wanted to get involved! Michael is our next door neighbor to the north.

The Hooks (~1000 square feet)

Rusty, Camille, Courtney, Charlie, and Jeremy were impressed with what they saw at Michael's. In the fall of 2006, Camille and I began to discuss the idea of growing in their front yard the following season. It wasn't long before we had decided to go for it. The Hooks had remodeled (popped their top) their home that year and their front lawn was decimated from the construction traffic. I quickly went to work and that winter I brought in 2 yards of compost, bags and bags of leaves (from the neighbors) and layered on wood chips from my arborist friend David Schaldach (another neighbor). The lawn sat like this over winter and then in the spring I rototilled, built beds and began planting. I planted a cover crop initially, plowed it in, and then came the veggies. This was the most productive garden in 2008, not to mention the most beautiful. The Hooks are our next door neighbors to the South.

The Church (~2000 square feet)

St. Andrew church is on Baseline Road, about a 10 minute bike ride or drive from our house. We use a plot (maybe 2 or 3) in the gardens that the church offers to the community. We started working this plot in 2006, but the water access was inconsistent due to construction that year, so 2007 was really the first full year here. We'll be expanding this church plot in 2008 and possibly adding another plot at the church if things work out.

George's Garden (~3500 square feet)

In the fall of 2006 I heard that someone is looking for a gardener to work a large backyard plot on Portland Place. I soon found out that Nancy Bizarro was the owner of this plot and I called her up to set up a visit. Upon first glance of the property, I knew that it was a good bet. Even though it is a fair distance from our house, a 15 minute drive, the size and the quality of the garden was just what I was looking for. It turns out that the previous owner of the home (George) grew organic vegetables and flowers on this plot for over 50 years before I took it over. Once this garden became part of the Community Roots collection, I felt encouraged to plan for marketing in 2007.

Reuben's Plot (~1200 square feet)

Reuben came to us in the fall of 2007. It was the evening of our CSA distribution when Reuben came by to offer up his yard. I was happy to find out that Reuben is actually our backyard neighbor - we share a backyard fence with him. It wasn't hard to accept both his sunny front yard, a portion of his back yard, and maybe even his side yard. In a symbolic gesture that brings a smile to my face every time I think about it, we decided that it makes good sense to have a gate between our back yards, and now we do! Maybe this is the first of many! Reuben's yard looks to be productive in 2008...the Brassica family (broccoli, kale, arugula, radishes, kohlrabi, bok choi, cauliflower, cabbage) will be calling Reuben's yard home.

Emily's (~750 square feet)

Emily's (front yard) garden will be our first on high traffic Martin Drive. Just about 3 blocks away, we'll be planting here early in 2008!

Megan's place (~800 square feet)

Another 31st St Garden for 2008! We'll start planting here soon. Megan's is another front yard garden.

IMAGE COMING SOON