Small Spaces: Community Gardens

by David George

The Small Spaces Gardening column aims to provide tips and techniques for successfully growing flowers, fruits, and vegetables in a limited amount of space. However, what if you would like to grow your own produce but have no space at all, such as a patio home, apartment, or condominium? We advise you to check out a nearby Contra Costa County community garden.

Several local community gardens offer a growing plot or raised bed that you can rent for a small annual fee. The rental or leasing costs vary from garden to garden. Sometimes, all that is required is volunteer work to sustain the garden's normal upkeep and its mission to grow and provide nutritious vegetables for local families in need and food banks. For example, both the Lafayette and the Gehringer Community Garden (Concord) provide growing beds to local residents for growing fresh organic vegetables. Experienced staff and volunteers offer gardening advice to inexperienced residents. Community gardens are also great places to meet new friends who share your enthusiasm for growing produce.

Other Contra Costa community gardens that currently offer residents the chance to rent or lease a growing plot include the Markham Nature Park and Arboretum in Concord, the San Ramon Community Gardens, the Gardens at Heather Farms in Walnut Creek, the Moraga Gardens Farm, and the Discovery Bay Community Garden.

If you or a family member have time and experience to contribute, don’t hesitate to reach out! Many local community gardens regularly seek volunteers to help tend the community plots where produce is grown for donations. Most also offer opportunities for volunteers to take home a portion of the fruits of their labor to enjoy at their own dinner tables.

UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa County provide assistance and planning advice to community garden staff all over the county. An online list of local community gardens we currently assist is available on our website at:

https://ccmg.ucanr.edu/CommunityGardens/CurrentCommunityGardens/

If you have time and enthusiasm, you can secure your own community garden growing plot and grow food for your own dinner table while learning more about veggie gardening at the same time!