The community gardens have limited resources, and that is why their management of these gardens are seeking help from the city and county administrations. The upkeep of the gardens requires fertile soils, water, utilities, planters and other laborers. Most of these are not readily available, and they are expensive to obtain. Some of the organizations that are involved in the maintenance of the community gardens do not have the fund for the continued support of the community gardens (Wong par 3). There are legal hurdles that have to be overcome by these organizations before they can make the community gardens a reality. They have to submit proposals to the authorities, and there are a plethora of regulations that they have to adhere to before they are approved and funded.
The members of the community gardens are from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. This poses a challenge when there are differences in opinion among the members of the community garden at Long Beach. The disagreements can escalate, especially if some of the members of the project feel isolated or discriminated against. Keeping the members of the community garden together, therefore, is a challenge that the leadership has to constantly deal with (Wong par 5). For the thriving community gardens, there is a problem with rabbits and other rodents that have invaded the gardens. This has been caused by the drastic decline in the number of coyotes after they were killed in large numbers by animal control. The coyotes used to keep the rodent population in check but at the same time used to attack pets. Crop diseases such as the cucumber mosaic virus are also common, forcing the management of the firms to resort to agrochemicals.
Work Cited
Wong, Grace. “Long Beach Community Garden Beset By Weeds Of Conflict – Press Telegram.” Presstelegram.com. N.p., 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2018. https://www.presstelegram.com/2013/08/21/long-beach-community-garden-beset-by-weeds-of-conflict-2/