BY STEPHANIE FOX
Nokomis East—the Keewaydin, Wenonah, Minnehaha and Morris Park neighborhoods—is one of the few neighborhoods in Minneapolis without a community garden. But that might change, maybe as early as next spring. The Nokomis East Neighborhood Association (NENA) started discussing the possibility of sponsoring an official garden at its September meeting, and committee members have already started to search for a suitable location for growing vegetables.
Minneapolis has a long history of supporting community vegetable gardens, from one of only two remaining World War II “Victory Gardens,” a four-acre divided parcel still operating in the Dowling Neighborhood, to a tiny patch squeezed between two apartment buildings near Powderhorn Park. Recently, spurred on by the growing interest in the local and healthy eating movements, community vegetable gardens inside the city have, according to a city spokesperson, expanded from 166 in 2009 to nearly 300. There are a total of 600 in the Twin Cities metropolitan area as of this fall.
Many neighborhoods lease unused city lots to turn into neighborhood gardens. The city currently owns 85 vacant lots, with 28 still available to be leased. But currently, there are no city lots located in Nokomis East. Committee members are looking elsewhere.
“To start, we’re contacting owners of commercial properties that aren’t being used,” said David Collin, the association’s project and communications manager.
If a suitable commercial lot can’t be found, nonprofit groups with land (such as churches) can offer a plot of land for community use, and park-owned and metro transit lots can be used as well. In some neighborhoods, homeowners who support the community garden movement have even let the gardeners use their back yards.
Collin said that listening to some of the success stories from other neighborhoods during a late- September 11th Ward neighborhood summit gave them new ideas, but acknowledged that their work was just getting started.
“One of our board members, Katie Sheetz, spoke to the Tangletown [committee representatives] about their Environmental Committee and with Hale-Page-Diamond Lake about their Sustainability Committee. We will be following up with them to help us move along the NENA Green Initiatives Committee agenda, including our work with community gardens,” he said.
The NENA committee also plans to reach out to their City Council Member Andrew Johnson, an enthusiastic gardener and a strong supporter of community and school gardens.
“Community gardens was one of my big issues when I ran for the council,” he said. “We would love to see one in Nokomis East. If they find some usable properties, I could stop in and set up leases or be a liaison between the neighborhood and MDOT. If there is any government unit, I can play an advocacy role.”
Once land for the garden is found, there is still a lot of work to be done. Volunteers are needed, said Johnson, but so far, this early in the process, no one has stepped up to take up the challenge as a lead organizer. “In order to make a sustainable model, in order to develop a sustainable garden, we need neighborhood help,” Johnson said.
Collin is confident that the community garden can be ready by planting season, next May. Nokomis East already has two decorative gardens, a “naturescape,” located on park board property and the Gateway Garden located on Metro Transit land. “Volunteers work these seven months of a year,” he said. “After our next meeting, we will start to look for volunteers and start to publicize it.” He thinks there will be no problem finding the five to 10 volunteers needed who will do the organizing and even the physical grunt work, which could include (but is not limited to) soil testing, obtaining a hydrant permit, site planning and roto-tilling as well as building shelters, sheds and raised beds.
Collin said that they hope to get more ideas from Gardening Matters, a local central clearinghouse for community gardening and food growing resources in the Twin Cities. The group coordinates seven local garden networks that provide both home and community gardeners support and information. “This is a positive program, but we have to make it sustainable, not just a one-time thing,” he said.
Gardening Matters recommends that groups wanting to start a new community garden engage in activities to get more people involved, including going door to door or dropping informational flyers at homes and in public places. They also recommend at least a full year of relationship-building and planning before tillers cut the soil and the first seeds are planted. This puts the Nokomis East group three or four months behind in the suggested timeline, but creating the garden by spring is not unrealistic, according to Collin.
“It’s not a fast project,” he said, “but we’re not in a huge hurry right now. We can’t plant in October but that doesn’t mean this can’t happen by next May’s planting season.” He is confident that they will find the land, define tasks, develop a solid plan and gain community support. He expects community members who love to garden but don’t have a place to grow their own to become volunteers. And he hopes gardeners from East Nokomis can soon begin to dream of planting and harvesting their own fresh-grown strawberries, tomatoes, zucchinis and cucumbers.
