A lot of new gardening and plant books have landed on my mat this spring, and I need to up my book reviewing game! I like to do them justice, and spend some time reading them before I write a review, so that does create a bit of a backlog. Right at the time when the garden is demanding my attention. Anyway, the book that has found itself at the top of the list is one that really encompasses the gardening zeitgeist – The Community Gardening Handbook, by Ben Raskin. I looked him up, and he has impeccable credentials. He’s currently Head of Horticulture for the Soil Association; prior experiences include working for Garden Organic, running a walled garden and being a Horticultural Advisor for the Community Farm near Bristol.
In The Community Gardening Handbook, Raskin has put together a manual for people who want to get involved in kitchen gardening in a group context, whether that’s as an individual tending an allotment, a guerilla gardener, or the founder of a community orchard.
After a brief introduction, extolling the virtues of gardening (with which I am sure we are all familiar), the author explores the different options for community gardening. There’s an international flavour, so the options for people who want an individual plot to tend include allotments, community gardens and victory gardens; the examples given are from Germany and Spain.
Upping the level of community engagement, he moves on to shared plots, where the work and the harvests are divided between members. These include community orchards, where – if you can sort out long-term tenure – a community group can reap large harvests with minimal regular effort. Fruit trees need the kind of care and attention that lends itself well to work parties, an
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