Composting Workshops From the City of Columbia

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Compostables make up 34% of the materials that go into landfills. Learn the why, what and how of home composting. Attend a free workshop and start diverting kitchen scraps and yard waste while producing a nutrient rich soil amendment. Composting can greatly reduce a household’s waste and is a fun and rewarding step towards a more sustainable lifestyle. City of Columbia residents receive a Geobin composter at the workshop as supplies last.

The next workshop, Home Composting 101, is at the Britt-Hall Community Garden this Tuesday, August 14 at 6 p.m.!
Register with this link. (Walk-ins also welcome)

Other upcoming workshops:

Wednesday, September 4, 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Capen Compost Demonstration Site
**NEW** Worms at Work: Vermicomposting 101

Wednesday, September 11, 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Capen Compost Demonstration Site Bokashi Anaerobic Composting

A Delicious Way to Contribute to the Community Garden Coalition

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Look for Chef Gaby’s Specials for a Cause the next time you’re at Nourish Cafe & Market and order these nutritious meals to support the Community Garden Coalition this summer!

🌞Summer in Santorini Bowl: Escape to sun-drenched Santorini with each bite! Creamy sweet potato hummus,refreshing herbed cucumbers, and tender beef souvlaki meatballs bathed in roasted red pepper butter create a harmonious symphony of flavors. Topped with crumbly feta and delicate sunflower microgreens, this bowl is a taste of Greek paradise, leaving you feeling refreshed and ready for summer adventures. (Mostly local & organic, Nourish-approved: refined sugar-free, gluten-free, corn-free, soy-free, inflammatory oil-free!)

🥗Greek Goddess Salad: Indulge your senses and feel like a deity with the Greek Goddess Salad. A perfect balance of flavors and textures – peppery arugula, olive oil potatoes, juicy cherry tomatoes, creamy feta, and crunchy walnuts – all tied together with a star-of-the-show tapenade vinaigrette. Topped with a perfectly jammy egg, this salad is a celebration of fresh ingredients that will leave you nourished and ready to conquer your day. (Mostly local & organic, Nourish-approved: refined sugar-free, gluten-free, corn-free, soy-free, inflammatory oil-free!)

A portion of the proceeds from these featured recipes will be donated directly to the Community Garden Coalition at the end of the season. We are so appreciative of chef Gaby Weir and Nourish owner Kalle LeMone for this delicious promotion!

CGC Gardens Get a BIG Boost From ForColumbia Volunteers!

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April 27th was a great day for two of the gardens that operate under the Community Garden Coalition (CGC) umbrella! ForColumbia, a volunteer service group organized by several of Mid-Missouri’s Christian churches under the leadership of Shelly Mayer (The Crossing), showed up in big numbers at the Windsor Street Montessori School and Unite4Health Community Garden to get things done! 

Windsor Street Montessori needed the grounds cleaned up and made more child-friendly, while Unite4Health, a city-owned garden, desperately needed deer fencing. The deer fencing materials were purchased with grants to the CGC from the Veterans United Foundation and Walmart, along with additional funds from ForColumbia. Installing the deer fencing took months of preparation because the garden sits on top of the old Nowell’s grocery store parking lot! Two incredible volunteers from ForColumbia, Tim Leibovich and J.P. Watson made it happen against all odds. What a wonderful organization that benefits so many people and non-profits around Columbia!

Volunteers clear vegetation and move a pile of sand in front of the Windsor Street Montessori school.
ForColumbia volunteers at Windsor Street Montessori School.
Many volunteers from ForColumbia are putting up a tall fence of plastic netting at Unite4Health Community Garden.
Several volunteers from ForColumbia are helping put up a tall fence of plastic netting to prevent deer from getting into Unite4Health garden.
ForColumbia volunteers installing deer fencing at Unite4Health Community Garden. 

Alpine Shop Fundraiser

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For those of you who missed it, the Alpine Shop held an Al-Pint Fundraiser Night for the Community Garden Coalition on Friday, April 12. For a $10 donation you got a novelty pint cup and two pours from a wide selection of local Logboat beers. We also had lots of free seeds for those that were interested.

It was a lot of fun! We hope that if we are asked back you will stop by and show your support for community gardening! And thanks again to Emily, Jessica and the rest of the crew at the Alpine Shop for hosting us!

CGC board members and a donor pose with a vintage CGC sign at the Alpine Shop

Community Garden Coalition board members, Kathy, Ginny and Mallary joined by one of our donors.

 

Al-Pint Fundraiser

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Come raise a pint in support of the Community Garden Coalition!

On Friday, April 12 from 5-7pm join Alpine Shop (1102 E. Broadway) for an Al-Pint Fundraiser Night. A donation of $10 will get you a novelty pint cup and two complimentary pours of local beer. All profits go directly to support the Community Garden Coalition and their mission to feed and flower our Columbia community.

Thanks so much to Alpine Shop for their support! We hope to see you there!

Photo of various Alpine Shop glasses full of beer along with the text: Al-Pint Night, April 12, 5-7pm, supporting Community Garden Coalition

Community Gardening Gets Started for 2024

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With Saturday’s meeting of garden leaders, the spring season is truly underway at community gardens. Here are a few things to know!

If you were a community gardener at one of our member gardens last year, please take a minute to confirm with your garden leader whether you will garden again this year. We have heard from many new gardeners seeking plots and some gardens are already full!

If you are planning a garden this year:

  • Talk to your garden leader if you want seeds, row cover or hoops — all three are available through the CGC. (You make a donation here to offset our costs if you’re able.) This year, the CGC will not distribute garden plants.
  • Water is on already at some gardens, but not all yet. Please ask your GL for information.
  • Please have someone in your household fill out the Annual Household Info form.

If you’re a garden leader or helping out at your garden, please see our Resources for Garden Leaders page for information shared at our meeting today, the annual reporting form for group/youth gardens, and more.

Get More Involved This Year — Volunteer!

Please remember that all garden leaders and CGC board members are volunteers! We appreciate everyone’s effort to keep the gardens running! If you have time to volunteer a little more at your garden, contact your garden leader; there are usually lots of tasks to go around.

Or, maybe you’d be interested in helping out on our board! We have some veteran members stepping down; and we could use some fresh faces to help us continue this work. Please contact us for more information!

What does your community garden mean to you? "I feel part of a great community of gardeners. I learn from them, enjoy their company."

Giving Thanks for Another Gardening Season

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A tall sunflower plant blooms against the sky; a garden and neighboring house are visible around and behind it.As we mark the end of another gardening season, many of us are pausing to give thanks and celebrate seasonal bounty.

As a community gardener, I am grateful for the continued generosity of the landowner of my garden, my garden leader who shares so much of her time to keep the garden running, and my fellow gardeners who help keep it maintained through the season. And I’m grateful that the Community Garden Coalition organization has backed my garden with supplies, insurance, water, compost, straw and other support.

CGC board members pose together during an event at a community gardenAs a longtime CGC board member, I want to express my thanks more broadly to my fellow board members and all the community garden leaders and gardeners out there working to keep these community spaces vibrant and productive. And, of course, I’m thankful to all our supporters out there who have donated money, time or other resources!

This was our 40th year as an organization! We thank you for being a part of that, and we hope you’re planning for a great garden next year.

Garlic Growing Workshop August 28

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two heads of garlic sit on a wood surface

Don’t forget about the free Garlic Growing Workshop planned for Monday, August 28! Veteran community garden garlic grower and MU Extension specialist Dhruba Dhakal will have lots of tips for planting, harvest and storage. As you think about your fall garden and the end of the season, planting some garlic makes great use of a portion of your garden plot over the winter!

Garlic Production Workshop
Monday, August 28
6 p.m.
Columbia Public Library, Friends Room
100 W. Broadway, Columbia, MO 65201

Register Here!

This workshop is part of our celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Community Garden Coalition. Thank you for your continued interest and support!

Garlic in Your Garden

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a double row of soft-neck garlic is shown in straw mulch with tall green leaves, the lower ones just starting to brown

Have you tried growing garlic in your garden yet? It’s an easy, fall-planted crop that usually has great success in our area. The Community Garden Coalition is sponsoring a free workshop with an expert in garlic growing. Dhruba Dhakal is an MU Extension specialist AND a longtime community gardener who has grown many, many a head of garlic in his plot at Ash St. garden.

Mark your calendar for August 28 and join us for this free workshop for community gardeners or anyone who’d like to learn!

Garlic Production Workshop
Monday, August 28
6 p.m.
Columbia Public Library, Friends Room
100 W. Broadway, Columbia, MO 65201

Register Here!

If you can’t make it to the workshop, check out this how-to post from a former CGC board member: Gearing Up for Garlic. This workshop is part of our celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Community Garden Coalition. Thank you for your continued interest and support!

garlic-production-workshop-flyer-2

Upcoming Classes for Gardeners

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As of our mission to help community gardeners, this year we’ve been focusing on educational opportunities. We’ve offered several workshops with other partners as part of our 40th anniversary celebrations. We also want to let you know about the following free or low-cost classes offered by University Extension presenters to help you deal with drought in your garden, learn how to store your harvest and improve your compost pile.

Check out the following offerings and follow the links to register. Another composting workshop is being planned in early August at our Unite4Health garden, so stay tuned for more information!

Workshop on Drought Management in Garden Plants

Wednesday, July 12, 6-8 p.m.
1012 N. Highway UU, Columbia, MO 65203
Cost: FREE
Register at this link.

In this workshop, horticulture producers and gardeners will learn about the effect of drought and heat on garden plants. They will also learn about how to minimize the drought effect in the garden plants in the workshop.

Home Food Preservation – Harvesting and Storing Fresh Produce

Friday, July 21, 12-1:30 p.m.
2nd floor, 105 E Ash Street, Columbia, MO 65203
OR Live via Zoom
Cost: $20
Register at this link.
(Registration closes Tuesday, July 18 at 11 p.m.)

This course will look at current standards for harvesting and storing fresh produce as well as hands-on preparation of a seasonal recipe. Participants may either attend in-person or online via Zoom. Participants who attend online must be able to pick-up a grocery bag of food to be prepared from the MU Family Impact Center in Columbia, MO.

Composting Workshop

Monday, July 24, 6-8 p.m.
1012 N. Highway UU, Columbia, MO 65203
Cost: FREE
Register at this link.

Participants will learn about benefits of compost in the soil, source of composting materials, good materials, and materials to avoid during composting. The speaker will talk about the greens and browns materials used during composting. Participants will learn about methods of composting, site selection for compost pile and compost testing in this program.