Community Gardens

If you would like to garden but live in an apartment or have otherwise limited outdoor space, a community garden (also sometimes called an urban garden) may be a solution for you.

Community gardens can be urban, suburban, or rural. Essentially a community garden is any space set aside for gardening by the community. In some communities, this land is set aside for individual plots to tend to, and in others, people care for the entire plot collectively.

Community gardens exist in a variety of settings: school grounds, hospitals, and in neighborhoods. In some cities, such as Chicago, community gardens are a part of the city's overall "greening" efforts whereby abandoned or unused lots are converted to gardening space.

There are an estimated 10,000 community gardens in the United States alone, and many thousands more around the world. Benefits to a community garden include:
 * Community involvement and development
 * Neighborhood beautification
 * Preservation of green space
 * Source of food
 * Reduces city heat

Some gardens set aside space for low income families and/or donate produce to the hungry.

The American Community Gardening Association maintains a database of community gardens throughout the US.