HOAs and Community Gardens

I lived in a condo association for a number of years, and organized a community garden for 2 of them. Boulder has a number of area community gardens, but none of them were close enough for me.

A community garden can be a great way to build community--even people who didn't really want to garden appreciated seeing the veggies grow.

I didn't find a lot of good resources about this particular problem of starting a community garden within the confines of an HOA (though this page is full of information about starting a community garden, and this page is a great example of documenting support for a garden to an HOA), so I decided to post some of my observations.

• Define the type of garden you want--it can either be shared entirely, or divided into plots for each interested resident.
• Gauge the interest of residents as best as you can, but realize you can have a successful garden with just 2-3 gardeners.
• Gain the support of at least 2 owners. Yes, renters do have a voice with the board, but owners have a louder voice.
• Ask the board for permission. As in the link above, make sure you know what you're asking the board for: tool storage, water, money, gardening space, access to the space, etc, etc.
• Aesthetics are key for many board members, so address this up front, and make sure you keep the garden looking neat.
• Siting of the garden is crucial as well. Because of the aesthetics concerns, it's useful to find a place that is out of the way for at least the first year. But also find someplace that you won't ignore or have too hard a time getting access to.
• Put the garden to bed every year with a nice layer of mulch--that leaves it looking clean for the winter.
• Start small--it's better to have a few people interested in a small space that is kept clean and neat than to have an acre that is ignored and unkempt.
• Report back to the board a few times a year. Remember that the garden reflects on them, since they gave permission.

Any other thoughts on how HOAs and community gardens?