The Growing Popularity and...

...sustainability of community farms:

When a new one opened for Norwalk residents this spring, with plots for $5 each, all 225 were snapped up in minutes. The 1.8-acre garden at Fodor Hill Road offers water, garden tools and compost for free.

More than 100 people are on a waiting list, so the city plans to expand the garden by 3 acres, replant the original orchards and restore the 1806 farmhouse, parks director Michael Mocciae said.

"We're offering ideal conditions. We're giving them everything but God's work," Mocciae said.

All 48 plots at Westport Community Garden, now in its third year, were taken this year, and there's a waiting list, co-chairwoman Mary Ann West said.

Daily Sprawl recommends Jones Valley Urban Farm in downtown Birmingham as one of the Southeast's best examples.