Author Archives: Jenny

Best Practices for Virus Safety at Community Gardens

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Tending your community garden plot can be a stress-relieving activity and an important way to supplement your grocery shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic. The health department has assured us that gardeners can continue to use their community garden plots. However, even as the City and County reopen, it is still important to be aware of the potential to spread the virus even if you don’t know you are ill. The following guidelines should still be followed at your garden.

Below are our recommendations for gardening at this time:

  1. Do not come to the garden if you are not feeling well or someone you live with does not feel well.
  2. Do not enter the garden if there are already 10 people there; come back later.
  3. Keep your distance (6 feet or more) from other gardeners. The CDC says this virus can be spread by people without any symptoms. If you need to be within 6 feet of another gardener, wear a mask.
  4. Clean off tool and hose handles before and after use because the virus has been found to survive up to 3 days on hard surfaces. We recommend you bring a towel or rag and use a solution of 4 teaspoons of bleach per quart of water to wipe down any tools that you use after removing any dirt.
  5. Please wash your hands with soap and water before and after gardening. If soap is not provided then consider bringing some with you.
  6. Use your own hand tools if you have them.
  7. Wear gloves if possible. Although they can spread the virus, they may help you remember not to touch your face.
Community Garden Coalition

We hope you’re able to enjoy spring weather and make use of your gardening opportunity this year, despite the unusual circumstances. Stay safe, respect your fellow gardeners and happy gardening!

Community Gardening While Staying at Home

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COVID-19 Update & Gardening Recommendations

Residents of the City of Columbia and Boone County are currently under a “stay at home” order until April 24. Please help mitigate the effects of the new virus by staying at home except for essential activities. (For more details on the order and coronavirus resources, see here.)

We want our gardeners to know that your community gardening activities are considered to be essential because they are for the purpose of food production. City staff have assured us that gardeners can continue to use their community garden plots. However, there are new rules in place.

Here’s what Stephanie Lilly, health educator for the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services has told us:

“Community gardens provide food, therefore are considered essential. There shall be no more than 10 people working in the garden at a time and shall practice social distancing at all times!”

There is a possible $1,000 fine for violating this rule, which means that gardens should not have any group work days until the shelter in place order ends.

Below are our recommendations for gardening at this time:

  1. Do not come to the garden if you are not feeling well or someone you live with does not feel well.
  2. Do not enter the garden if there are already 10 people there; come back later. According to the Boone County order there is a possible fine of $1,000 if you violate this rule and it is reported.
  3. Keep your distance (6 feet or more) from other gardeners. The CDC says this virus can be spread by persons before they have any symptoms.
  4. Clean off tool and hose handles before and after use because the virus has been found to survive up to 3 days on hard surfaces. We recommend you bring a towel or rag and use a solution of 4 teaspoons of bleach per quart of water to wipe down any tools that you use after removing any dirt.
  5. Please wash your hands with soap and water before and after gardening. If soap is not provided then consider bringing some with you.
  6. Use your own hand tools if you have them.
  7. Wear gloves if possible. Although they can spread the virus, they may help you remember not to touch your face.

The Community Garden Coalition is still figuring out how to safely facilitate a distribution of cool season transplants, row cover, hoops and additional seeds to member gardens. Stay tuned to news from your garden leader in the coming days!

Community Garden Coalition

We hope you’re able to enjoy spring weather and make use of your gardening opportunity this year, despite the unusual circumstances. Stay safe, respect your fellow gardeners and happy gardening!

Native Plants Can Help Your Garden Thrive

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The Missouri Prairie Foundation and the Grow Native initiative have put together a fact sheet about the relationship between native plants, pollinators and fruit and vegetable production. See which native plants attract the pollinators your vegetables need.

Did you know? Native plants help fruits and vegetables thrive. (Handout from Missouri Prairie Foundation.

Perhaps there’s a corner of your garden plot, an area around the edges of the garden or a communal plot that could be home to some of these important native flowers. The CGC can help connect you and your community garden leader with a native plant consultant from the City of Columbia and our group may be able to offer some funding for native plant projects. Just get in touch with us at info@comogarden.org.

2020 Spring Thaw Kick-Off Event Sunday, February 23

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girls planting in a raised bed

Spring Thaw Community Gardening Kick-Off

Sunday, Feb. 23
3-5 p.m.
Activity & Recreation Center
Drop in anytime!

The Spring Thaw is the kick-off to the community gardening season. There will be representatives from all the gardens, so you can join a garden as a newcomer or confirm a plot assignment for previous gardeners. Plus, everyone can network and get gardening advice from other gardeners.

There will be educational information about cover cropping and water conservation, and we’ll have a free seeds available for gardeners at member gardens.

If you know someone who’d like to get a community garden plot this year, please share these event details!

Thanks & Happy New Year!

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A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who supported community gardens during the CoMoGives local donations campaign!!! Whether you were able to give $10 or $200, or even just passed on our message, we are very grateful for your support!

We’re excited about a new year of gardening and hope that we can supply lots of new and continuing gardeners with the means to grow some of their own food in 2020. Our first meeting of the new year happens Wed., January 8 at the Columbia Public Library at 7 p.m. We welcome funding requests from member gardens, and we’d be happy to meet any volunteers who’d like to get involved.

Ann St. gardeners — thank you for sharing the love!

P.S. If you missed the CoMoGives donation deadline of Dec. 31, you can still give to the CGC anytime of year online or with a check via the good old USPS.

Support Community Gardening for Another Season

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There are just a few days left to donate to your favorite local organizations through the CoMoGives local giving campaign! Share your support for community gardens in Columbia with a donation by December 31.👍❤️🥕🌱👏
https://comogives.com/product/community-garden-coalition-3/

The CGC has been helping gardens grow since 1983. Here’s a look back at some of the gardens we supported in 2019.

  • Ash Street Garden
  • Cambridge Place Garden
  • Friendship Garden Club
  • Russell Boulevard Outdoor Classroom
  • Ann Street Garden
  • Cougarden at Columbia College

The support we receive from donors like you allows us to fund fences, tools, water, mulch, compost, plants, seeds and equipment at gardens like these. It only takes $10 to show your support for another great year of growing community through gardens.

Thank you for being a part of our community!

Cultivating Gardens & Community — With Your Help

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  • girls planting in a raised bed
  • Columbia College students showing garden produce just picked for donation
  • two gardeners at Ash St. showing off a large melon
  • young boy holding straw to mulch raised bed
  • Mom & son with asian gourd


In 2019, the Community Garden Coalition was pleased to support over 1,000 gardeners through another season of growing food and cultivating community. Our member gardeners include people stretching their food budgets, students learning about growing plants for the first time, people growing produce to donate to others and gardeners keeping alive food traditions from distant cultures.

To help community gardens thrive in Columbia, our all-volunteer group offers seeds, plants, water, insurance, tools and supplies. We believe that small gardens can have large benefits. They provide healthy food, stronger communities, greener neighborhoods and a sense of pride and shared accomplishment.

For the third year in a row, we’re joining the CoMoGives local giving campaign. Our goal is to raise $5,000 during the month of December – and we need your help!

We hope you will show your support for community gardening with a donation to the CGC through CoMoGives between December 1 and 31!
CoMoGives.com


Even a small donation can go a long way in our budget! Your dollars stay local, and they’ll go directly back into supporting community gardens used by your neighbors and friends with hoses, wheelbarrows, lawnmowers, seeds, compost and more.

We would also like to spread our message further this year. Can you help us spread the word about community gardening and our mission, by sharing this message with someone else you know?

You and your friends can also stay in touch with CGC and check on our progress by following us on Facebook. Thank you for your support and consideration, and happy holiday season from your CGC Board of Directors!

Kathy Doisy, President
Jenny McDonald, Vice President
Bill McKelvey, Treasurer
Lauren Godsy, Secretary
Ann Marie Gortmaker
Kristin Hatton
Sarah Kendrick
Zach Pietryla

Thank You, Gardeners, Volunteers & Donors!

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Congratulations on another great season of gardening!

The Community Garden Coalition would like to thank all our hardworking garden leaders and volunteers and all our generous donors for their efforts. We are so appreciative of what you do and how you help your community!

Collage of garden images from 2019 with thank you message and request to donate through CoMoGives in December

We’re already thinking about the 2020 gardening season. We’re grateful to the City of Columbia social services granting program for continuing to support us next year. And we’re pleased to announce that the Community Foundation of Central Missouri will be supporting our seed and plant distribution with a grant next year.

We also depend on the support of many individual donors through the CoMoGives local giving campaign in December. Can you help us this year with a donation or by passing on our message to your friends and family?

You can donate to the CGC and many other great local organizations through CoMoGives starting Dec. 1.

Season’s End 2019

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chicory seedlings in a raised bed wih light snow coverWith record cold temps and snow so far this November, most garden plots are finished producing for the season. Before you shift away from thinking about gardening for the winter, though, please do the following.

  • If you’re at a community or group garden, let your garden leader know whether you’re planning to return next year. This will help leaders know what plots will be available for newcomers next year.
  • Clean up your plot. If you need tips on how to put your garden to bed for the winter, consult your garden leader.
  • Consider making a year-end donation to the CGC to help with maintaining your community garden next year. We’re a very small, all-volunteer non-profit, and even modest contributions help us fund water, mulch, tools and more to support community gardening in Columbia.
    Donate here today, or wait for December when the CGC will be participating in the CoMo Gives local giving campaign.
  • Consider donating some of your time. Individual gardens need good leaders and team members and the board of the CGC could use new members, too. Contact your garden leader or our board members to get involved.

Sustainability Speaker Series

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Learn about pollinator conservation from three speakers at a free event sponsored by the City of Columbia.

Sustainability Speaker Series:
Pollinator Conservation
Thursday, November 14, 2019
6-8 p.m.
City Hall, Room 1A/B

Wildlife experts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MO Dept. of Conservation, University of Missouri, and the City of Columbia will talk about pollinator conservation challenges, habitat restoration, and policy that are occurring at all levels of government.

Come for the entire event or just for a little bit. All are welcome including children.