I've been a part of several community gardens over the years, with mixed results. One was very well run, with a great garden community; but it was also 15 miles away, which eventually became impractical. Another (in City Heights, San Diego) was a huge, growing part of the community, in a swath through the middle of town that had been razed for a future highway expansion. I had a part in reaching out to the local Asian community, which eventually occupied the majority of that garden. Unfortunately, that was also a high crime area... I had my entire corn crop stripped overnight, the day before I intended to harvest. When my children were forced to watch a gang beat down just outside the fence, I abandoned my plots & never came back. I've gardened solo ever since.
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Is traveling outside the urban area a possibility? My yard is only the size of a city lot but I have made use of others' yards and fields for years. I was surprised how many people were interested in my gardening. Most of the land in the exurbs has little to no use. That's not surprising, just drive around and see.
Finding these places with willing property owners having available ground and water was easy and mostly just involved me mentioning my wants to everyone who seemed to have time to listen.
Best of Luck in 2019!
Steve
Ditto. I've been an "OPP" gardener (on Other People's Property) for most of my adult life - including the present. Although I have a fairly large suburban lot, the majority of my garden is on a friend's rural property, 6 miles away. There I can grow the space hogs & large plantings that I don't have room for at home, which helps to keep me in veggies year round, and gives me room for trials & breeding experiments. The owners appreciate our company, and the fresh veggies we give them throughout the summer... we appreciate the great latitude they have given us to garden when & where we choose (within reason), and their dogs & cats keeping the pests in check. It is a wonderful relationship that has lasted 13 years.
In past years, I've gardened behind a factory where I worked (they liked having eyes on the property after hours); in a utility easement that had a BMX track (in exchange for picking up after their races); and in a vacant field on a military base (in exchange for mowing the remainder of the field). All of these gardens had water provided. As
@digitS' stated, I've never had difficulty finding a location, if I was willing to drive a little & offer the property owner something in exchange as a "win-win".
@Michael Lusk , while there may not be vacant lots in your area, there may be property owners which would allow you to have a garden on their property. This might be elderly people who are now unable to garden themselves, or absentee property owners, who might be happy to allow you to garden in exchange for property upkeep. Perhaps put out a feeler to a local realtor, expressing your interest, and what service(s) you might be able to offer in exchange. You might also be able to garden on
public property; I would suggest checking local schools or colleges, especially those which might have Ag programs (a school in my area even has their own greenhouse). Put up "looking for garden space" notices in churches, bulletin boards, and garden centers... I almost guarantee you will get responses. Once you have found a location, just be sure to work out all the ground rules up front (such as hours, parking, noise, off-limits areas, use of water, etc.) to avoid any potential misunderstandings. Yeah, gardens really need
Ground rules.
I hope you are able to find somewhere to garden, fresh home-grown veggies are a hard thing to give up, once you've grown used to them. If nothing else - and if your residence accommodates it - you could garden in a few large pots, so you could at least grow
something. Used plastic barrels, cut in half (neatly!) are usually UV treated & far more economical than large pots.
Maybe you could post this on FB or some other site and find somebody rural who has the same thought. I Know that Indy sits surrounded by rural space. Good luck!!
