How to Start a Yard Share
Start finding partners as soon as you decide to start yard sharing., Start it off with a party., Read up., Have an expectations discussion early., Create your online home., Involve the kids., Gather resources together., Talk to your neighbors about...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Start finding partners as soon as you decide to start yard sharing.
It can take a while to work out agreements and plan for a substantial garden.
The sooner you start, the more successful you'll be at finding the right folks and planning for your yard share.
Call your friends who live in apartments or your grandmother who knows a thing or two about growing food in your area.
Make it a family affair, or a way to gather some folks you don’t get to see often enough.
Or bring up a yard sharing project at your house of worship.
Perhaps your faith community would be interested in growing fresh food for the hungry each spring.
It pays to start now.
Healthy groups and good agreements take time to develop. -
Step 2: Start it off with a party.
Once you've found some people you would like to garden with, have a potluck party and celebrate your new community.
Getting to know people over a shared meal and music sets the proper tone for real community.
Above all, it should be fun and light.
Save the substantial discussions for another day.
Light candles, play some good music, talk about your dreams for the garden or gardens and break bread together because this is the beginning of something wonderful., Make a list of books that are useful to your yard share group.
Will you use permaculture methods, bio-intensive or no till? Bring everyone up to speed.
Visit your local library, or begin collecting your own resources.
For those who are more risk averse and have some anxieties about how to share without encountering legal bumps, start with a copy of Janelle Orsi and Emily Doskow's book The Sharing Solution., Talk about your worries and how you will address them.
Do this online (such as in a wiki space) so that people can flesh out their concerns, respond, and agreements can be recorded permanently.
If things get tense, have another potluck and work it out over something yummy.
Online tools can support the collaboration but don’t substitute for it; keep in mind that face-to-face encounters build real community.
Start asking these sorts of questions:
When is it OK to be at the home or yard of the host yard, and when is it not OK? Will you compost collectively? Is it a strictly organic garden? , You'll find that sharing your experience online helps both you and others to learn from it.
Share planning, documents, videos, pictures, links and jokes.
Teach each other what you know about how to grow in your zone and create a place where new members down the line can catch up on all the ideas and wisdom you’ve gathered.
Documenting things will help you evaluate what worked and what didn't, not only in terms of what you tried to grow but also in how you chose to organize the project.
Imagine the yard share going on for many seasons, and plan for success by sharing knowledge from the start., If kids are going to be part of the garden share, make sure they participate in the planning and expectation setting.
If they're involved at the start, they're more likely to enjoy participating.
Work some kid-centered fun into your plan.A garden is one of the best hands-on learning experiences a kid can have.
If you have any biology or nature geeks in your group, ask if they can hold a lesson now and then., As a group, make a list of all the things you hope to grow.
Research what works for your zone and pull a kitty together.
Order your seeds and starts.
Some heirloom and specialty seed houses run out of stuff before spring.
Some things like garlic starts go quickly.
Take an inventory of who has what tools, seeds, transplants, cuttings, and a list of the items you will perhaps need to buy.
Plan for storage of tools and make sure people know where everything goes at the end of the day.
Make sure people’s time, knowledge, and commitment are all valued.
Money shouldn’t be the only currency you acknowledge.
Be aware that many people are coming to the yard share project with a need to save, not spend heavily.
Get ready to bargain hunt and browse all those spring garage sales.
A garden does not need to be an expensive project. , Introduce them to your new friends.
Let them know about yard sharing.
Maybe they want to start their own yard share.
Think about how this sort of project can revive the neighborhood., Share your ideas and concerns.
Maybe someone has already worked through it.
Gardening forums cover both yard sharing and gardening concerns in general., Some plants you try will have fantastic results.
Other plants you try to grow will fail.
Set your expectations with this in mind.
Will you can or dehydrate the excess? Will you need to plan to purchase some tools for this as well? Will you save seed for swapping next year? -
Step 3: Read up.
-
Step 4: Have an expectations discussion early.
-
Step 5: Create your online home.
-
Step 6: Involve the kids.
-
Step 7: Gather resources together.
-
Step 8: Talk to your neighbors about what you're doing.
-
Step 9: Ask questions online of folks who are already yard sharing.
-
Step 10: Plan for harvest and storage; success and failure.
Detailed Guide
It can take a while to work out agreements and plan for a substantial garden.
The sooner you start, the more successful you'll be at finding the right folks and planning for your yard share.
Call your friends who live in apartments or your grandmother who knows a thing or two about growing food in your area.
Make it a family affair, or a way to gather some folks you don’t get to see often enough.
Or bring up a yard sharing project at your house of worship.
Perhaps your faith community would be interested in growing fresh food for the hungry each spring.
It pays to start now.
Healthy groups and good agreements take time to develop.
Once you've found some people you would like to garden with, have a potluck party and celebrate your new community.
Getting to know people over a shared meal and music sets the proper tone for real community.
Above all, it should be fun and light.
Save the substantial discussions for another day.
Light candles, play some good music, talk about your dreams for the garden or gardens and break bread together because this is the beginning of something wonderful., Make a list of books that are useful to your yard share group.
Will you use permaculture methods, bio-intensive or no till? Bring everyone up to speed.
Visit your local library, or begin collecting your own resources.
For those who are more risk averse and have some anxieties about how to share without encountering legal bumps, start with a copy of Janelle Orsi and Emily Doskow's book The Sharing Solution., Talk about your worries and how you will address them.
Do this online (such as in a wiki space) so that people can flesh out their concerns, respond, and agreements can be recorded permanently.
If things get tense, have another potluck and work it out over something yummy.
Online tools can support the collaboration but don’t substitute for it; keep in mind that face-to-face encounters build real community.
Start asking these sorts of questions:
When is it OK to be at the home or yard of the host yard, and when is it not OK? Will you compost collectively? Is it a strictly organic garden? , You'll find that sharing your experience online helps both you and others to learn from it.
Share planning, documents, videos, pictures, links and jokes.
Teach each other what you know about how to grow in your zone and create a place where new members down the line can catch up on all the ideas and wisdom you’ve gathered.
Documenting things will help you evaluate what worked and what didn't, not only in terms of what you tried to grow but also in how you chose to organize the project.
Imagine the yard share going on for many seasons, and plan for success by sharing knowledge from the start., If kids are going to be part of the garden share, make sure they participate in the planning and expectation setting.
If they're involved at the start, they're more likely to enjoy participating.
Work some kid-centered fun into your plan.A garden is one of the best hands-on learning experiences a kid can have.
If you have any biology or nature geeks in your group, ask if they can hold a lesson now and then., As a group, make a list of all the things you hope to grow.
Research what works for your zone and pull a kitty together.
Order your seeds and starts.
Some heirloom and specialty seed houses run out of stuff before spring.
Some things like garlic starts go quickly.
Take an inventory of who has what tools, seeds, transplants, cuttings, and a list of the items you will perhaps need to buy.
Plan for storage of tools and make sure people know where everything goes at the end of the day.
Make sure people’s time, knowledge, and commitment are all valued.
Money shouldn’t be the only currency you acknowledge.
Be aware that many people are coming to the yard share project with a need to save, not spend heavily.
Get ready to bargain hunt and browse all those spring garage sales.
A garden does not need to be an expensive project. , Introduce them to your new friends.
Let them know about yard sharing.
Maybe they want to start their own yard share.
Think about how this sort of project can revive the neighborhood., Share your ideas and concerns.
Maybe someone has already worked through it.
Gardening forums cover both yard sharing and gardening concerns in general., Some plants you try will have fantastic results.
Other plants you try to grow will fail.
Set your expectations with this in mind.
Will you can or dehydrate the excess? Will you need to plan to purchase some tools for this as well? Will you save seed for swapping next year?
About the Author
Judith Walker
Specializes in breaking down complex DIY projects topics into simple steps.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: