Spotlight on D.H. Crum Community Garden

Posted on December 26, 2017 by Jenny

DH Crum Community Garden partners with the City of Columbia and the Community Garden Coalition to provide gardening space and resources for all community members.

Support this garden and others with a donation through CoMo Gives this month.

We began the garden at Firehouse #5 in the Fall of 2014 with 6 individual plots. Garden participation continues to grow each year, and we now have 12 individual plots with a variety of community plot options where gardeners share the labor and harvest. We are also adding several fruit trees and bushes. The garden provides an opportunity for area residents to grow fresh food and an environment to develop community.

— Garden leaders Kristen Hatton and Julie Walker

Fun fact about the D.H. Crum garden: They have a persimmon tree, which drops loads of delicious native fruit most years in late fall. Lucky ducks!

Spotlight on Unite 4 Health Community Garden

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Jenny

The Unite 4 Health Community Garden was established in 2011. It has undergone many transformations over the years, and today features 40 garden plots, five of which are fully accessible, and each tended by a different family. Our members are a diverse group and offer an environment rich in culture, age and experience. In addition to the individual plots, we have community strawberry, raspberry, elderberry, and herb beds, fruit trees, and a rain garden. A rain barrel system is also on site. Plans for next year include the addition of native edible plants.

Support this garden and others with a donation through CoMo Gives this month.

Spotlight on Bethel Church Community Garden

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Jenny

We recently harvested 349 pounds of sweet potatoes from the Bethel Community Garden along with some late season green beans, tomatoes, beets, squash, and some surprise watermelons we found hiding in the weeds.
Great gardening year! Thanks for your support.

Linda Coats,
Bethel Church Community Garden

a huge late-season harvest of sweet potatoes and a few melons This garden, run by and for the Bethel Church community, has been a member of our coalition since 2011. Some produce is donated to St. Francis House and similar charities and some is shared by gardeners.

Support this garden and others with a donation through CoMo Gives this month.

Spotlight on Friendship Garden Club

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Jenny

One of our newest member gardens is the Friendship Garden Club, which started their project this past winter and became a member at the same time. The garden is hosted by the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, but is open to anyone regardless of religious affiliation. Part of their vision for the garden is to build health and fellowship in their community. And they want the garden to provide healthy food options for the community in a low-income neighborhood.

At mid-season this year, they had this progress report:

We have 9 out of 12 plots occupied so far & we are recruiting for late season plants/gardeners. This experience has been a blast!! Calvin Miles & I co-chair FRIENDSHIP GARDENS & are, thoroughly, enjoying our ‘labor of LOVE’ & are grateful most of everything we planted is flourishing. GOD is so Good!

Dee Campbell Carter
Friendship Garden Club

a gardener prepares a new raised bed at Friendship Garden volunteers at the Friendship Garden site

Help this garden flourish next year, with a donation through CoMoGives during the month of December!

Spotlight on Ash St. Garden

Posted on November 16, 2017 by Jenny

Now that the weather’s turned and most of our gardens are dormant, it’s a good moment to look back on this season. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be highlighting some of our member gardens, starting today with Ash St. Garden.

One of the largest community gardens in Columbia, Ash St. Garden provided plots for more than 25 families this year and those plots helped feed about 85 family members. Garden leader Hari Poudel offered these pictures of the garden plots growing all kinds of vegetables in mid-June.