Ejanga — Community Garden Guide | ejanga.org
A season-by-season plan of sowing, planting, maintenance and harvest for a shared garden, plus the group dates that recur each year.
Late winter is sowing season under cover. Start seeds indoors or in the greenhouse for the long-cycle crops, clean and repair tools in the communal store, and hold the annual meeting where rules and the fee for the coming year are confirmed.
Spring is the busiest period. Direct sowing begins once the soil warms, transplants go out after the last frost, and the first communal work days of the year clear paths, repair beds and turn the compost. Raised beds — 30–45 cm high and no wider than about 1.2 m — warm and drain earlier than open ground, so planting can start sooner on them.
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Summer is maintenance. Water on the garden's schedule, tie in climbing crops, succession-sow every few weeks to keep beds productive, and keep weeds down within the plot-upkeep rules. Communal work days in summer focus on the tool store, compost bays and common beds.
Autumn is the main harvest window and the reset. Clear spent beds, add compost, plant overwintering crops, and store tools for the wet months. The garden reviews its waiting list — which can run from several months to several years — and contacts the next members.
Winter is planning. The annual meeting sets the rules and fee for the next cycle, the tool store is overhauled, and indoor sowing resumes as the days lengthen. A community garden that keeps this rhythm year after year is the norm rather than the exception.
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