A Typical Raised Bed Garden

Many folks know Pikes Peak Urban Gardens (PPUG) as an organization whose primary mission is to start community gardens around the city. That was true until Linda Mooney and Dick Anson came into our lives. They had an idea and we had the funding (actually our parent organization, Pikes Peak Community Foundation came up with the funds). They wanted to build small vegetable gardens in the backyards of families that were struggling to make ends meet. The idea was brilliant!

Here is how it…

There are many great ways to build community.  Joining a community garden is just one of them and you get fresh veggies to boot! It has been said that people need a "third place" to have in their lives. We have family, work and a third place. That third place for many is church or temple. Others it is the town square or the local pub. And for some it is a community garden. Over the past five seasons, Pikes Peak Urban Gardens (PPUG) has helped build several community gardens and watched as…

America’s favorite garden vegetable is the tomato. Botanically speaking it is a fruit and up until the late 1800’s it was classified as such to avoid taxation. Then the Supreme Court ruled that it was a vegetable and should be taxed as such. Anyway you slice it, tomatoes are delicious but challenging to grow. Novice and experienced gardeners can be rewarded with a bountiful harvest of these global beauties if a few details are considered.

If your space is small it is recommended that…

There is no excuse this year not to have your garden beds ready for planting. The weather has been unseasonably warm and dry. We have had plenty of chances to get outside and add a bit of aged compost or cow manure, turn the soil a bit and hose in some much needed moisture. Every year folks ask us what are our favorite…