Grow a Garden in the New Year

If you’re interested in sprouting a green thumb in 2022, Grow a Garden with a little help from JCPL and Denver Urban Gardens.

Grow a Garden is a program that reduces barriers to local fresh food by connecting individuals, families and community groups to seeds, seedlings and education to get growing at home or in a DUG garden. These resources are free to low-income households, and the program has expanded its accessibility by using a sliding scale, pay-what-you-can model for anyone that wishes to start their gardening journey.

How to Start Your Garden

Applications open on February 1 and will be accepted on a rolling basis. Visit the Grow a Garden website to take a look at the five different kits that you can choose from. The seeds and seedlings that come in these kits are grouped together based off of what grows well together and what ingredients come together for great meals; there’s a Salsa Garden kit, for example, or a Fry and Ferment kit, for those that want to try their hand at additional cooking techniques. All Garden Kits come with a Plant Care Guide that includes sample layouts for planting, recommendations for sunlight, watering and more.

Once you’ve chosen your kit, select the Edgewater Library as your pickup location. You can also get help registering in-person at the Library. Finally, pay what you can with the sliding-scale pricing. Soon enough, your gardening kit will be ready for pick-up and you’ll get growing!

How Grow a Garden Helps Jeffco

Food insecurity is a problem that affects 8.4% of Jefferson County residents, according to the 2020 data collected by Feeding America. Food insecurity traps impoverished populations without access to resources like this in cycles of unhealthy eating and economic instability. It can seem insurmountable.

Grow a Garden resolves these problems by providing easy access to food and educational resources. Hand in hand, these resources will help fight food insecurity in all Jeffco.