Common Ground

I am an international student, studying rural sociology at University of Missouri, Columbia. I am researching on acculturation of immigrant Muslim women who participate in community gardening . So far I have been able to recruit only one person. I need 14 more. I was hoping to find some women here who fit my criteria and will be okay being interviewed. If you don't fit my criteria but know someone who does, can you possibly put me in touch with them? I will really appreciate the lead. I am attaching the recruitment flyer. The research interview will be between 2 to 3 hours and will be in a way that is the most comfortable for women. I do give $25 gift cards. My research is a phenomenological study using interviews of about 15 women. This study focuses on the Muslim women who work in community gardens. How do the community gardens help (or not help) the Muslim women in adjusting to life in America? The study will look at the relationships, networks, skills that help Muslim women regarding community garden and adjusting in America. Please let me know . Regards Anadil Iftekhar

There's a debate going on within ACGA about changing this Forum so it is organized by regions. What's your opinion? On the pro side, the gardening part of community gardening is very different in different places. You can't grow the same varieties of heirloom tomatoes at the same time in Alaska vs. Florida. Also, people like to contact others close by, ones who share similar political realities and, possibly, cultural patterns. On the con side, there are two arguments. First, while gardening may differ, community garden organizing has many similarities wherever you go. The Forum allows broad sharing of good ideas, no matter where they are from. Second, we are still rebuilding after our website was out of commission. We don't as many regular visitors to our Forum as we want. Regions would futher dilute numbers. Regional supporters respond, well, we'd get more numbers if we had regions, since people would be more interested. The "big tent" supporters responde that's fine in theory, but we need a Forum manager for each region, and that did not work in the past. And determining regions is a challenge: For instance, should Maine be grouped with Connecticut in "New England." Or do we go by ecoregions, and put Northern California with Oregon and Washington, not with Los Angeles and Calexico? The supporting evidence beyond opinions? Again, it's mixed. One of the most popular events at ACGA's national conferences are the regional meetings. On the other hand, the old ACGA listserv, which serves as a model for what such a discussion board can be, was never divided by regions and pulled members from everywhere. (That's how I first found out about the community gardens in Australia, which has some of the best ideas around.) So, what do you think? For now, we're sticking with a single forum. But I'm open to adding a regional forum as a trial (if I have a dedicated host to help.) Any candidate regions?

Here on the North Carolina/South Carolina line, spring planting is starting with cool season vegetables. Top of the list for me is sugar snap peas, and spinach. Yes, we get to start early, but the price is that everything burns up when it gets summer hot in May. So, what are other people planting across the land in community gardens right now? Further north, in the lower 48, Canada, and Alaska, are people starting seedlings indoors? I've got a flat of tomatoes, warm season flowers, eggplants and peppers growing to set out next month. Here, the weather has been pretty mild all winter, mild but dreary. I hear on the news other regions have been hit with much harsher conditions. Like all politics, all gardening is local, I suppose. Even if we as North American community gardeners find ourselves facing similar human and organizing challenges, whether we're in Barrow or Boca Raton, Saguenay or San Diego. So, where are you and your community garden in the planting process? PS: We have an old tiller, donated by a former gardener. So another thing that happens now is everybody wants their plot tilled - NOW! COVID, schmovid, I'm putting on my mask and getting out in the garden!