Art Friedrich has always been into locally grown food. He got involved in community gardens in St. Louis, where there were 105 of them, and in Boston where “there were too many to count. Hundreds.” Then he moved to Miami six years ago and searched for community gardens. He found two.
“I mean, it was just astounding,” he said. “There was the South Beach Victory Garden, the North Beach Community Garden, and that was it.”
But in those six years, the gardens began to grow, just like the plants within them. Today, there are more than two dozen in South Florida, with plans on the way for more.
The largest is in Boca Raton, where a partnership between the city and the Junior League has resulted in a 1.5-acre community garden next to the city’s library. It started four years ago with 30 plots but is now up to 97.
“And we’re adding to it,” said Andrea Garcia, president of the Junior League of Boca Raton. “People buy the plots for different reasons. Some companies have plots out there, and there’s families that want to teach the importance of gardening and fresh fruits and vegetables.”
Plot no. 1 was taken by Lynn Russell when the garden opened on Earth Day, April 22, 2011.
“It’s a four-by-twelve, which is the largest plot we have,” Russell said. “I do a rotation. This year, I’m doing tomatoes and eggplants. Peppers. And I also have quite a lot of sweet potatoes growing.”
In Plot 82, tomato plants grow more than five feet high, with several varieties, “better boy” looking riper than “beefmaster.” Plot 23 boasted massive collard greens while on the north side of a gazebo, a bulbous eggplant grew in one plot, with a few smaller ones just turning purple.
Each plot represents the work of a gardener who pays $50 to $100 each year to occupy the space. The gardeners donate 10 percent of their haul to the food bank Boca Helping Hands. Last year, that came to 265 pounds of food.
A brick walkway lined with benches splits the garden in two. A sign at the entrance to the garden asks people to please not pick, though according to Russell, she’s lost a few vegetables to thievery.
“I try not to get negative about it,” she said.
Most of South Florida’s community gardens are not such elaborate affairs. Tucked away in Fort Lauderdale’s South Middle River neighborhood is a small Episcopalian church that sold out to a developer in September.
But Little Acorn Developments decided to keep the church’s food bank and community garden going.
“We bought it in September of this year and offered the local residents the opportunity to grow food on an allotment as long as some food went to the [food] pantry,” said Gerry Scanlon, president of Little Acorn Developments. “I was very disappointed when three people showed up.”
Undeterred, Scanlon and a few others have decided to go ahead with planting in about a dozen plots at the former site of the Church of the Intercession, with some of the food grown here going to the food bank.
“It’s nice for us to be able to give them some fresh produce,” Scanlon said. “We’re about to step up our effort and put some more vegetables in the ground.”
The handful of plots aren’t even as small as a community garden can get.
In Miami-Dade County, the Urban Oasis Project has taken a different tack — the nonprofit organization brings the garden directly to the community.
“We started planting gardens five years ago,” said Friedrich, the group’s president. “We started creating individual plots in low-income families’ homes, then left them with the resources to be a success — what to do, how to take care of it and how to get ahold of us. We’ve done over 100 of them in the past five years.”
Friedrich says the individual garden offers some advantages over community gardens.
“You can do it quick, there’s more control,” he said. “But you do lose that community building aspect, and a big part of gardening is finding other gardeners and being able to share those resources.”
Russell, who came to the Boca Raton Community Garden with little experience, agrees.
“It’s a passion,” she said.
, 954-356-4605 or Twitter @Daniel_Sweeney
Community Gardens of South Florida
Palm Beach County Community Gardens
Abacoa Community Garden, 1022 W. Community Drive, Jupiter. 561-624-7788, abacoa.com
Boca Raton Community Garden, 101 NW Fourth St., Boca Raton. 561-620-2553, bocaratoncommunitygarden.com
Cason Community Garden, Cason United Methodist Church, 342 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. 561-374-2434, 561-271-2010,
El Sol’s Sunshine Organic Community Garden, 106 Military Trail, Jupiter. 561-745-9860,
Gray Mockingbird Garden, 2000 N. D St., Lake Worth. 561-246-0148, graymockingbird.com
Poinciana Spirit Community Garden, Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, 1003 Allendale Road, West Palm Beach. 561-833-7605, holyspiritwpb.org
Seeds of Hope Community Garden, 725 Foresteria Drive, Lake Park. 561-252-7179, lakeparkcdc.com
Southwest Community Garden, 119 SW Seventh Ave., Delray Beach. 561-306-0086,
Sow Share’s Frog Alley Community Garden, 228 SW Fourth Ave., Delray Beach. 917-204-1987, sowshare.ning.com
The Village Greens Community Garden, 441 25th St., West Palm Beach. 561-906-2583, northwoodvillagegreens.org
Broward County Community Gardens
Community Garden of Lauderdale Lakes, 4200 NW 36th St., Lauderdale Lakes. 954-486-7544,
Flagler Village Community Garden, 425 NE Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale. flaglergarden.org
The Fruitful Field Community Garden, Parkway United Methodist Church, 100 NE 44th St., Pompano Beach. 954-942-8310, thefruitfulfield.org
Marando Farms Community Garden, 1401 SW First Ave., Fort Lauderdale. 954-713-6441, marandofarms.com
Miramar Community Garden, Fairway Park, 3700 Largo Drive, Miramar. 954-602-3270,
The Need to Feed Deerfield Beach Garden, 399 SW Third Ave., Deerfield Beach. 954-391-9266, theneedtofeedinc.org
The Need to Feed Pompano Beach Garden, 210 NE Third St., Pompano Beach. 954-391-9266, theneedtofeedinc.org
North Lauderdale Community Garden, 700 SW 71st Ave., North Lauderdale. 954-722-0900,
PATCH Community Garden, 1201 NW First St., Dania Beach.
Pembroke Pines Community Garden, 10100 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines. 954-435-6520,
Rotary Community Garden of Coral Springs, 2575 Sportsplex Drive, Coral Springs. Call 754-200-1788, cscomgarden.wordpress.com
South Middle River Community Garden, 501 NW 17th St., Fort Lauderdale. 954-298-5607.
Miami–Dade County Community Gardens
Surfside Urban Gardeners 8900 Dickens Ave., Surfside.
North Beach Community Garden, Parkview Island Park, 7350 Dickens Ave., Miami Beach. 305-673-7000, ext. 6311,
Copper’s Landing Community Garden, 531 NE 63rd St., Miami. 786-487-3895,
Pine Tree Park Community Garden, 4401 Pine Tree Drive, Miami Beach. 305-673-7000, ext. 6311
Joseph Villari Victory Garden, 226 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. 305-673-7000, ext. 6311
Cutler Ridge Park Community Garden, 10100 SW 200th St., Cutler Bay. 305-238-4166, allovetree.org
For a comprehensive list of community gardens and other local food endeavors in South Florida, visit Localfoodsouthflorida.org.
