The Archibald Neighborhood Garden is located on a vacant lot to the east of Dot's Market and H.O. Wheeler School. The garden is maintained by Grow Team ONE, a grassroots group promoting gardening and permaculture in the Old North End. The lot is owned by the Visiting Nurse Association and leased at no cost to Grow Team ONE. The garden was established in 2007 with support from Friends of Burlington Gardens, Intervale Compost, and the Community and Economic Development Office. For more info, read The Archibald Neighborhood Garden Report, complete with photos and lease.
 

The Buell Street Neighborhood Garden is located on a grassy lot behind an apartment building at 72 Buell Street, near the Burlington downtown area. The garden involves long term neighborhood residents, students, and families. Rather than plots, the garden is divided into 4 foot wide raised beds. Each gardener or family maintains a section of a raised bed, while work projects are done cooperatively. The neighborhod garden is made possible by the energy of the gardeners and the cooperation of the landlord, Gene Richards, who wanted neighborhood residents to have a gardening space.


Decker Towers located at 230 St. Paul Street is a 159-unit high rise apartment building serving predominately seniors and people with disabilities. The terraced raised beds on the south side of the building are managed by a resident council in partnership with the Burlington Housing Authority. The Housing Authority encourages resident gardening at several of its complexes including Franklin Square in the New North End and Champlain Apartments in the Old North End.

Click on our accessible gardens page for more info on gardening with seniors and people living with disabilities.

McAuley Square Housing Development on Mansfield Avenue is a housing complex for seniors, young families, and graduated students. The small fenced garden includes 16  4 ft x 4 ft raised beds which are managed by Cathedral Square Corporation. The garden was created in 2003 with support from FBG.

For more information on McAuley Square and creating neighborhood gardens, click on our education and outreach page


   
This small garden on Hayward Street in Burlington's South End was started by three neighbors in 2003. The garden includes 4 ft x 8 ft raised beds constructed in the side yard of one of the families. The gardeners share in the work and harvest, and take care of each other's plantings during vacations. The small garden has promoted interest and positive interactions between neighbors, as well as opportunities for children to be involved. The raised beds were constructed with recycled lumber and filled with Intervale top soil.

   Here are a few tips for starting and sustaining a neighborhood garden:

• get to know your neighbors and their gardening preferences
• share the idea of gardening together and the potential benefits and challenges
  
• if a landlord or property owner is involved, present your idea and dialogue about logistics
  
• find a piece of well drained land that receives sun for at least 8 hours a day in the summer
• locate your garden at least 4 feet away from buildings
  
• have your soil tested  for nutrients and heavy metals by by University of Vermont Extension
• if you live in an area where the soil may be contaminated with lead or heavy metals, use raised beds filled to at least a 12 inch depth with compost enriched top soil
  
• if building raised beds, use cedar or hemlock timbers, or non-pressure treated lumber, do not use RR ties
  
• if the soil may be contaminated, use landscape fabric as a barrier on the bottom of the raised bed
  
• to avoid damaging underground utilities, call Dig Safe (1-888-344-7233) before any digging is involved
  
• work out arrangements for sharing the costs for water and soil ammendments
  
• talk over guidelines including organic gardening practices and composting
• maintain your garden well so that it's attractive to the neighborhood
• share your produce and encourage other neighbors to garden together
• enrich the soil with compost from year to year to maintain fertility
• click the link for ideas on using recycled materials in your home or neighborhood garden
• click the link for a flyer on Lead Hazards and Vegetable Gardening