Gardening with kids? Apply for a grant!

Fall is the right time to plan a community-based garden for the following spring. Why? With your plans in mind, you can apply for a gardening grant. There are many grants available for all types - and stages - of gardens, but these programs all have one thing in common: they want detailed information about you and your proposed garden. If you have your plans at hand, filling out grant applications like these will be a snap.

Some gardening grants accept applications on a rolling basis, but several recur yearly with a spring or fall deadline. Here are two with fall deadlines for my U.S.-based readers, presented by the National Gardening Association. Both require that your garden will be tended by 15 or more children between the ages of 3 and 18:

The 2010 Subaru Healthy Sprouts Award provides 30 schools and/or organizations with a $500 gift certificate for gardening supplies, along with additional gardening and nutritional information. If you are using your garden to teach "about our environment, nutrition and hunger issues in the United States," be sure to sign up! The application deadline is October 1, 2010.

One hundred Youth Garden Grants are available to gardening groups for 2011. Five recipients will win educational materials and $1000 in gift cards to purchase gardening supplies; ninety-five groups will receive half of this amount. For the best chance of success, your garden should tie in with education, environmental awareness, leadership, and community building. The application deadline is November 1, 2010 (postmark).

Good luck and happy gardening!

Photo credit: woodley wonderworks via flickr // CC BY 2.0