As resources on how to garden are in abundant supply, we'll list only a few below. See Backyard Vegetables Gardens for more information on growing those edibles. Go to Native Plants if your gardeners are interested in growing native flowers and other plants, especially those that attract and support pollinators. If your community garden includes containers, visit Container Gardens.
If the participants in your community garden are culturally diverse, consider including a greater diversity of culturally appropriate plants; Select Vegetables within the Backyard Vegetable Gardens section has a subsection on ethnic seed sources.
Title: Westchester County Vegetable Planting Calendar
Sponsoring Organization: Cornell Cooperative Extension Westchester County
Description: A 2-page PDF chart listing vegetable and fruit planting dates for Westchester County's climate.
Title: Vegetable Planting Guide
Sponsoring Organization: Cornell Cooperative Extension Westchester County
Description: A 2-page PDF guide to planting vegetables, with guidance on direct seed vs. transplant and recommended seed starting times in Westchester County.
Title: Pleasantville Community Garden Guide: Gardening
Sponsoring Organization: Pleasantville Community Garden
Description: See section 1, "Soil Maintenance" (which mentions cover crops) and section 2, "What to Plant."
Title: Pollinator Pathway Native Plant Lists
Sponsoring Organization: Pollinator Pathway
Description: Many fruits and vegetables need to be pollinated in order to produce. It’s a good idea to grow plants that attract pollinating insects and birds.
Here's a small selection of resources useful to community gardeners in the growing season. Even in a community garden with individual plots, there may be common areas that require shared maintenance, and in a communal or cooperative garden, where the tasks are shared, there may need to be a system for organizing the ongoing work of growing, weeding, harvesting, and other maintenance.
Title: Growing in the Garden
Sponsoring Organization: Vermont Community Garden Network
Description: An excellent curated list of resources. In the words of VCGN: "There are innumerable how-to-garden resources on the web, in your local library, and throughout your community (just ask your gardening neighbor!). This page is intended to help you whittle down that list by featuring our go-to resources at VCGN for growing in the garden."
Title: NRCS Technical Publications: Community Garden Guides
Sponsoring Organization: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Description: On this page, you'll find links to guides on topics for various production techniques to extend the growing season, including hoop houses, field tunnels, floating row covers, equipment for seed starting and plant propagation, etc.
Title: Pleasantville Community Garden Guide: Gardening
Sponsoring Organization: Pleasantville Community Garden
Description: See section 3, "Garden Jobs." Also, in the Appendix, there is a link to their "Growing Guide" , which is an example of a tool to help gardeners learn the watering requirements and harvesting guidelines for particular crops (particularly useful in a communal or donation garden, where the chores are shared).