Since 2020, TVCGCoop has been working to grow strength in the Treasure Valley community through community gardens.
Inspired by the Victory Garden era and driven by the challenges of the COVID pandemic, we built a network of over 40 gardens in just two years.
Our mission has been two-fold
To increase food security and cultivate community connections.
By empowering individuals and neighborhoods to grow their own food, we promote sustainability and create a stronger sense of togetherness.
Happy Spring!
Many of you have likely already made great progress in your gardens, there’s been so much to do with pre-spring and late winter, but the day has arrived. It’s now spring. Hopefully, this short planting guide offers a few more ideas for what you can still plant this month.
Feel free to share it with fellow gardeners!
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Succession Planting Tip
For continuous harvests, especially with lettuce and other salad greens, start a small portion that you can harvest, enjoy, and share within two weeks. Keep this cycle going by starting a new round of greens each month, transitioning to direct seeding once the soil warms.
The City of Boise and Boise State are partnering to learn more about Community Gardens in our area. The survey is open all: those that already utilize a community garden, and those who do not. The survey should take about 5 minutes to complete and may be open through April 1st. The results will help drive action in our community.
Thank you for your participation!
You’ve Started Seeds!
What’s Next?!
For all those wild seed starters out there (and those about to join the masses), it’s good to know where you can plant your righteous seedlings so they can grow into abundant productive plants! So, a Zine was created, to empower gardens of all sizes.
If you stop by the Open Letter Collective vortex of art activities at TreeFort (just after FlatStock as you venture towards the Main Stage), you can pick up a free zine AND a packet of seeds, donated kindly by Snake River Seed Cooperative!
If you’re not going to make it to TreeFort that’s All Good! Just click the button below for a free download of the zine! And if you want to see a video to see how it goes together, click here.
You can also download a Free Seed Tracking chart here!
Click this image for a detailed list of gardens seeking gardeners in 2025!
Garden Stories Blog
How a High School and Community Garden Partnership Started a Productive Growing Space in Hard-Packed Soil, Using Hügelkultur to Regenerate Soil
Hügelkultur is all about working with nature, not against it. The idea comes from the way forests naturally build their own soil over time. In our first season as the Grow More Good Garden, we grew 250-300 lb of tomatoes, in soil that had been so hard packed, rocky, and weedy, that farmers had decided to let it go fallow for a few years.
We are a public community garden that partners with area schools for in-garden learning experiences.
Read More
Victory Gardens: Both Inspiring & Worth Learning More About
During World War II, Victory Gardens were an incredible act of collective resilience, with an estimated 20 million gardens providing nearly 40% of the country’s fresh produce. That time in our collective history was an incredible example of people working together to share garden space and take care of both households, and communities more broadly. The movement gave people a sense of purpose and connection, reinforcing the lasting truth, that growing food is growing resilience.
Read More
According to the USDA Economic Research Service Nov. 2024 and Civil Eats Sept. 2024
There are many reasons people are considering community gardens.
For many households in our area, food is the second-highest monthly bill.
Demand for food assistance in parts of US has doubled after Covid-19. Food pantries in the U.S. are stretched to the limits. Inflation and a cut in SNAP benefits have led more to seek assistance. According to Feeding America the food insecurity rate in Ada County is 9.1%, or 36,850 food insecure people.
Not everyone has access to space to grow their own food, or the time to cultivate a full garden. Community gardens can be part of filling the gap.
Gardens Can Provide the Following:
Food and Nutrition security, from fresh, nutrient-dense food
Green spaces in the city!
Places to connect with others and find solace!
Feelings of empowerment from growing some of our own food!
Reconnecting with nature and developing an understanding of what all goes into growing good food!
Compassion for who grows the majority of our food!
A place for sharing good ideas, struggles to overcome together, and hopes!
Music-making has also been known to happen in garden spaces!