Benefits of gardening

I had one of the first plots at the Ute Trail Garden. The reasons I joined were to grow more veggies than what I could in pots around my home, to increase my knowledge about gardening in Colorado, to meet others in my community, and to get some good outdoor physical activity in. Also, it was convenient that the garden was within a mile from my home. 

I had a beautiful productive plot that I maintained on my own, except for a few neighbor gardeners occasionally helping out with watering. However, I only participated in the garden one season because of the time commitment since I was still working full time, and had no additional help in tending my plot. Every growing season I still walk over to the garden to see how it has developed, and to say hello to some of the gardeners that I knew from the first season and to meet new members. I am now retired and just developed a garden plot on my property, so will now be tending to it. 

In planning a new community garden, it may be helpful to have a some folks who don’t want to commit to a plot, but just want to help out for a week or two in exchange for box of produce.