Collective Gardening

In a collective garden, a group of people work the land as a community, growing crops together and sharing the harvest.

What is “collective gardening”?

A practice in resilience: empowering people to grow food for themselves and neighbors by helping to overcome the barriers to gardening like lack of land, start-up resources, tools, seeds, skill, confidence, or ample discretionary time. Collective gardens are communal growing spaces where gardeners share the work of planting, tending and harvesting in one large plot together, differentiated from the traditional individually-tended community garden “plots.”

“Collective gardening seems like the way we were meant to garden. Why do something individually when there’s so much to be gained from community knowledge, from the give and take of having many people to rely on, when you can share abundance and advice and inspiration more widely!” – Seedsong Collective Garden Member

What inspires VGN to promote collective gardening?

When the Covid pandemic lockdown began in spring of 2020, many food security initiatives came about to improve people’s access to nourishing food. We witnessed a boom in the home gardening world with many people newly interested in learning how to grow their own food. VGN was approached by Skinny Pancake to expand the shared gardening model we were exploring at the Tommy Thompson Community Garden in Burlington. Within a year, a handful of other collective gardens, then called “Grow Teams“, joined the movement. The Grow Team managed by VGN became known as the Co-op Victory Garden and was renamed Seedsong Collective Garden in 2022. Today Seedsong is a vibrant community of dedicated garden members, an exemplary demonstration garden where we host numerous workshops, and has truly brought to life our vision of what collective gardening can become.

In 2024, VGN piloted two new collective gardens in the Burlington area thanks to support from the Conservation Legacy Fund to transition individually-tended community garden plots into a shared gardening model. At the Starr Farm Community Garden in the New North End we welcomed 13 garden members who revived an abandoned plot where new garden beds were designed around existing perennials. The second pilot site was the Family Room Collective Garden where programming centered around growing culturally meaningful crops for the New American and migrant families who participate in Family Room activities.

How to get involved for the 2025 season!

As we approach our fifth year of managing collective growing spaces, VGN is envisioning a “hub and spoke” model to guide our collective gardening initiative. VGN will act as the “hub” providing essential guidance, resources, and community organizing to empower each spoke’s unique set of characteristics, challenges, and opportunities. We aim to manage multiple garden sites, engage with 50+ gardeners, grow thousands of pounds of fresh produce, weave together a community of practice around collective gardening, and launch an inaugural 10 week intensive on seed starting in our brand new Greenhouse at Landry Park in Winooski.

The SPOKES

Collective gardening can only be done in community with fellow gardeners and movement organizers. Below describes (in brief) the “spokes” of the model which defines how community members can get involved. Click on the title of each spoke to learn more about what it entails and how to register. Anyone can choose to be a part of one or multiple spokes.

Seedsong & Starr Collective Gardens – read more

Who: Anyone interested in becoming a member of a collective garden in Burlington for the 2025 growing season.
What: Two member-run collective gardens managed in partnership with VGN. These collectives will each have their own team of gardeners, but in times of abundance or crisis they will come together as one.

Greenhouse at Landry Park – read more

Who: Anyone interested in gaining experience with seed starting and having access to table space in a heated greenhouse in Winooski.
What: VGN manages a greenhouse to grow thousands of plant starts for Seedsong and Starr. In 2025 we are offering an inaugural 10-week long course on seed starting in a greenhouse and spring growing in a garden

Community of Practice – read more

Who: All past and present Seedsong & Starr collective garden members, anyone gardening in independent collectives, and anyone curious or interested in shared land access and growing food in community.
What: Four seasonal in-person gatherings and ongoing mutual support to share resources, bulk materials, lessons learned and to glean new inspiration for sustaining a collective gardening movement.