How to Start a Workplace Garden

Although you may have never heard of it, workplace gardening has become increasingly popular over the past decade or so. Establishing a garden that employers and employees collectively tend to can promote new relationships and strengthen teamwork within a company. A workplace garden can also provide a sense of wellness among employers and employees, as the emphasis on healthy living is quite strong these days. Starting a workplace garden requires planning, time, and effort between all involved. Although it may seem like an overwhelming project to take on in the beginning, the end results are very worthwhile. Fresh produce, stronger relationships, wellness, and teamwork make it a very rewarding venture for any company.

Location

When planning a workplace garden, you will obviously want to choose a location that is near or attached to the workplace itself. It is best to start small, and if the garden is a success, make it larger the following year. A small plot of land near a parking lot, or even a roof can make an acceptable place for a workplace garden. If your company is located in a big city, sometimes a roof  or windowsill will be all you have to work with. A raised, boxed-in area can easily be constructed and should work fine. If space is very limited, vertical gardening using a high trellis can also be an option. A garden may also consist of many large pots if it is absolutely impossible for a plot of soil to be used.

Organization

Once the location of your workplace garden is determined, it will be necessary to get everyone involved together for an organizational meeting. You will need to know if your employer will provide the supplies needed, or if it will be up to the employees to purchase them. You then must decide on what types of materials to use, and how much of them you will need. You will need to determine if the garden will be planted using seeds or plants, or a combination of both. Compiling a list of items and knowing how much of them you will need is very helpful. Depending on who is providing the materials, someone will need to go to a garden center and purchase these supplies.

Planting

After the location has been prepared, and the materials are ready to go, your workplace garden will be ready to plant. Planning a day that is dedicated strictly to planting the garden will ensure that all plants and seeds get planted at the same time. After planting, your crops should be marked somehow so everyone knows what is planted where. Make sure that everyone involved is aware of everything that goes on. This will prevent confusion in the future, and will make the gardening process much easier.

Success

Once your garden is planted, delegating tasks among those involved can help to make workplace gardening very efficient. You can get together, and using a calendar, schedule who will be doing what in the garden, and when they will be doing it. This way the garden will always be taken care of and there will be no question as to whose job is whose.

Tasks that need to be performed regularly include weeding and watering. Always be on the lookout for any pests that may try to make their way into your workplace garden as well. If any are found, proper pest control will be needed too. For this there are numerous, non-toxic methods that can be used. Non-toxic methods are much safer for people, pests, and the environment, making them very popular.

If everyone involved follows these basic pointers, your workplace garden should be very successful. When it comes time to harvest your crops, they should be divided equally among everyone that worked on the garden. It will be very rewarding to see everyone’s efforts pay off in such a great manner. The relationships that develop and the teamwork used will positively enrich your company. Last but not least, the healthy produce that is grown will benefit everyone’s health in a very delicious way.

Guest post from Bailey Harris. Bailey writes for www.insurancequotes.org.