Shared Abundance Gardens
We envision a resilient community that responds to collective crises with creativity, generosity, and support for one another.
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Shared Abundance Gardens is an initiative launched by Abundance Farm during the Covid-19 crisis to promote people growing food at home and sharing their harvests with others. We are a collective of Connecticut River Valley gardeners, both experienced and first-timers, united in our commitment to share the fruits of our harvests. Participating gardeners are able to support the collective initiative through financial contributions that go towards the purchase of shared materials, as well as through offering technical support and encouragement to others.
Shared Abundance Gardens takes the spirit of our Farm’s Pick-Your-Own program out into the community, promoting the Jewish vision that natural resources are fundamentally not owned by individuals but are meant to be equitably shared.
What does it mean to join Shared Abundance Gardens?
Commitments from Gardeners
As a Shared Gardener, you commit to:
Sharing your harvest, time, or gardening materials beyond just your household. How? It’s your choice, but here are some ideas (We’ll help you figure it out!):
Share a few veggies with friends and neighbors
Help load or deliver materials for someone else
Share perennial cuttings or seeds with other gardeners
We also invite gardeners to support the overall initiative by making a financial contribution (sliding scale $0 - $360) towards the material costs.
Commitments from Abundance Farm
Abundance Farm commits to:
Providing access to material resources such as compost, soil, woodchip mulch, and vegetable and flower seedlings from the farmers at Sawmill Harb Farm. For a list of what you will receive in 2024, click here.
Sending out monthly resource emails with timely, practical tutorials curated to support you to have a healthy garden.
Hosting community gatherings at Abundance Farm, and Ask-A-Farmer events during our Pick-Your-Own hours.
Sliding Scale Payment
We are committed to offering Shared Abundance Gardens as a resource for anyone, regardless of financial situation. We offer this program with a sliding scale payment method. We ask that gardeners support this initiative by making a financial contribution of $0-$360 towards the material costs. We estimate that the seedlings, soil, compost, wood chips, and seeds that our gardeners use have an average retail value of $100 per garden. Paying above the estimated retail value helps cover the cost of the sliding scale model, allowing us to keep this program open to anyone.
FAQs
What if I don’t know how to grow food? (aka, I’m a new gardener, I kill everything, etc.)
We hear you! We are especially excited to support first time growers. You can do this! You will have really simple, clear instructions every month, and a network of people with gardening expertise that you can lean on.
Do you provide raised bed materials?
No, we do not, but we can direct you on who can help you build a bed, where to get the soil to fill it, and best building strategies.
I live in an apartment and my landlord won’t let me start a garden.
This can be difficult to navigate. If you can’t start a garden outside, you can explore container gardening, which we can provide educational resources on. Also, we would be happy to provide a letter to submit to your landlord letting them know you are part of this initiative if that would help.
I want 2 tomato plants and one cucumber. Can I come and pick out exactly what I want?
You can pick up a standard kit of seedlings, plus up to six plants of your choice from our bonus seedling selection. If you want to leave something behind, you can. You can also grab something that another gardener left behind. Unlike shopping in a store, we’ve already selected varieties for you that we recommend!
What if I’m an experienced gardener and don’t need your help with gardening skills?
That’s so amazing to hear! We hope to stay in the loop about your progress. We can offer you convenient, on-demand materials (including woodchips, mulch, soil, compost) and a supportive gardening community. We would love to connect you with beginning gardeners looking for support
I only have a little patio space. Can I still garden?
Gardening can be done anywhere! We have many gardeners who grow plants in containers. We are happy to provide educational resources for this.
I heard Abundance Farm is based on Jewish principles. Do I have to be Jewish? Are there any expectations I should know about?
Everyone is welcome at the Farm! Part of Abundance Farm’s vision is that people from all backgrounds will deepen their understanding of how land, nature, and agriculture are parts of their own ancestral stories. Our monthly email may include some Jewish learning opportunities, but feel free to click through only if it’s of interest to you. We hope this inspires you to share your ancestral stories with us!
I already bought so many seeds and got started! Can I just come and get compost and woodchips?
Yes! We’re happy to help jumpstart your gardening initiative, in whatever form that might take.
I’m worried I won’t have enough of a harvest to share with anyone else. Can I just do this for myself?
As a food justice and community building initiative, we do intend for gardeners to share their resources in some way. We recognize that this will look very different for each garden and will depend on so many different variables in your life. All offerings are welcome, including sharing harvest, other resources, or time.
I’m interested in more than just growing food; I would love to plant flowers to help our pollinator population.
Great! We will have both vegetables and pollinator-friendly plants available this season.
Still have questions?
Contact: sharedabundance@abundancefarm.org