Is there a community garden project (for those without personal yard space) in McHenry County? Also, do you know of a good resource for locating community gardens nationwide? Thank you!

Hi Beth~ I have forwarded your post to our Master Gardener Coordinator, Brenda Dahlfors. Many Master Gardeners have worked with Community Gardens and I think she may have some resources for you.

Thanks for the question Katie

Beth - The community gardens that the Master Gardeners work with in McHenry Co. are found in all kinds of places - we have one here that the Farm Bureau donated space for, several Township offices have them, there are two located on or near apartment complexes, and one in Harvard, next to the library. However, they are not open to the public per se, they are maintained by Master Gardeners, senior groups, garden clubs, and residents. The produce is donated to local food pantries. What you are looking for, I understand, is a plot to rent. Years ago, the Woodstock Parks Dept. rented plots to residents to garden, but that area is now a parking lot for the new pool. For what you want, I would check with city and township offices in your area. On line, I put in "community garden plots" and came up with 229,000 hits! There is one in Evanston that looks very well organized... Sorry I couldn't be more help - let me know how your search fares! Brenda

Hello,

We have a plot of land in a residential area on the west side of Bloomington. We would like to turn it into a community garden. We feel this would help provide a less expensive option for healthier foods to the community, beautiful the neighborhood and increase community pride.

We, however, do not have spare money to fund this project. Are there any grants available to assist us? We need to restore water to the area, build a pump and other supportive maintenance before we can begin to make this a reality for the community.

Thank you for your assistance.