Yardsharing Workbook - Requesting Your Ideas!

[LizM - Site Moderator]

PROJECT UPDATE: February 22, 2012 - We're pulling this project up again and hope to have it out by the end of March 2012. Please contribute ideas below in the comments section.

I’m in the process of writing a workbook for yard sharing groups and I could use your input!
The success of any garden share depends entirely on the expectations set by the entire group at the outset of the relationship between the members of the group. Respect of each other’s needs and hopes for the project should be a given.

It’s important to keep the workbook a flexible tool. I am assuming groups will have different needs regarding the formality of their agreements. My question to you is what sort of things would you need to work through in an agreement with your yardsharing members before you felt comfortable forming a working group?

* What needs to be in your agreement?
* What would be a deal breaker?
* What questions would you have for the garden or property owner?
* What questions would you have for the gardeners in the group?
* What questions would you want to work through regarding finances for your group?
* What is important to formalize?
* What is important to keep loose?

These agreements will depend only on what each group sorts through. How can we help make these groups enjoyable and workable for all the people involved?

Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts!

The plan is to charge a small fee for the workbook to raise money for keeping the site going.

[LizM - Site Moderator]

Thank YOU!

Keep the suggestions coming folks!

[LizM - Site Moderator]

Thank YOU - this is going to be really helpful to everyone interested!

[garden doc]

One thought I keep mulling over is not so much garden sharing but rather job sharing. For example having a group of local gardeners that join forces and move from one members garden to another. Let's say one Saturday we weed garden A,B, and C the next week D and E. Come harvest season the same. This year a couple of my friends and I plan a canning party, where we'll each bring produce and jars and share the task of preping and canning. We can then share the different variety of produce we each bring.

[Chris Scott]

That's a great idea! I've done that with others in cleaning parties but not other areas. Doing anything together makes the work lighter.

[LizM - Site Moderator]

That's a great idea garden doc! I will work on a way to make that easy for people to organize here. At farms the idea is called a crop mob.. a sort of swarm of volunteers...this is more like a "round robin"...cool!

[garden doc]

A couple of years ago several if my friends and I had a " shed raising" for my then 82 year old dad ( to be 85 this year). And within one day we not only build his shed but also had most of the siding up! Unfortunately Papa has a hard time gardening, so this year I'd like to build some standing height raised beds.

[LizM - Site Moderator]

What a good kid! :D That' s really cool. Maybe we can find him a yard share pal?

[garden doc]

My dad has been involved in organic gardening since the 1970's. He has a lot of experience to share, and I think I inherited his gardening gene. My French Grandfather was also a farmer, and I'd like to think he watches me from heaven and approves of what I'm trying to do.

[LizM - Site Moderator]

Lovely! If he would ever like to post his thoughts here let me know. I'd love to hear what he's learned!

[garden doc]

Here's another idea I keep mulling over ( yes, I mull a lot ), is tithing. If we all commit to tithing 10% of our produce to local food banks, homeless shelters or senior centers we can significantly improve the nutrition of our less fortunate neighbors and citizens. What a better way to promote self relience.

[LizM - Site Moderator]

There will definitely be a few ideas on that - ways of thinking through being of service to our wider communities!