Chicago Community Gardeners Association

Small Space Gardening Workshop
2016-06-30 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago)
In an urban setting like Chicago, many gardeners are limited in how much growing space they have to plant, and constantly seek creative ways to navigate this challenge. Join staff from the Chicago Botanic Garden for a workshop on small space gardening, and learn more about maximizing your gardening potential!

Pullman: 22nd Annual Garden Walk - A Garden Tour and Tea
2016-06-25 10:00 - 16:00 | Pullman National Monument Visitor Center, 11141 South Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60628, United States
The Historic Pullman Garden Club, with co-sponsors the Historic Pullman Foundation and Pullman State Historic Site, invite you back to the Victorian era of the 1880’s during the 22nd Annual Garden Walk – A Garden Tour and Tea, on Saturday June 25, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Victorians passed the summer days more leisurely than we do today and so can you, as you step back in time within this picturesque historic neighborhood. The event begins at the Pullman National Monument Visitor Center, 11141 South Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago IL 60628, where you will pick up a ticket brochure/map to begin your tour.
Tickets include a light Summer-themed Tea to be held on the veranda of the Hotel Florence. You can enjoy one of the guided walking tours of the historic district, or use the self-guided tour map and stroll at your own pace. The tour will wind through the row house lined blocks to visit the public gardens, including the Gateway Garden, a part of the NeighborSpace community garden network, select private gardens, plus our community food garden and urban gardens. Tea service will begin at 11 a.m.
Tickets for the event are $12 in advance by emailing historicpullmangardens@gmail.com or calling (773) 568-2441 until June 23rd or $15 on the day of the event.
The Pullman Historic District can be reached by taking the 111th Street exit west off of I-94 or via the Metra Electric Train Line, exiting on the 111th St/Pullman stop.

22nd Annual Pullman Garden Walk
2016-06-25 10:00 - 16:00 | Historic Pullman Visitor Center, 614 East 113th Street, Chicago, IL, 60628, United States
The Historic Pullman Garden Club hosts the 22nd Annual Garden Walk, on Saturday, June 25th, 2016 from 10am-4pm.

Chicago Cares Serve-a-thon
2016-06-25 07:30 - 17:30 | Daley Plaza, 50 W Washington St, Chicago, IL, 60602, United States
Imagine a Chicago where everyone is rooting for each other. That’s what Chicago Cares’ Serve-a-thon is all about. This June 25, 5,000 people will spend the day volunteering, meeting critical needs in every corner of the city. Along the way, we’ll meet new people. We’ll break down barriers. We’ll see what’s possible when we all roll up our sleeves and work hard together. Register now for Chicago’s largest single day of service!
A $10 fee covers everything you need for the day. We’ll organize all the details, and hook you up with supplies, a T-shirt, light breakfast, lunch, plus a party with food and beer (for those of us of drinking age) afterward. You just show up and make a huge impact.

All About Herbs Workshop
2016-06-23 18:00 - 19:00
There are many ways to define an herb. A gardener may wish to choose herb plants that have culinary value, aromatic value or medicinal value. And in addition to these traditional qualities, many herbs also offer a great deal of ornamental value to the garden as well. Join the Illinois Extension Master Gardeners to learn all about herbs!

Worm Bin Building Workshop
2016-06-16 18:00 - 19:00
Worm composting is an easy, efficient way to recycle food wastes into a fine, high-quality compost for your houseplants or garden. Join the Illinois Extension Master Gardener program and make your own take-home worm bin! This event is free, but registration is required. Please contact communitygardens@chicagoparkdistrict.com to reserve your spot.

Hideout Veggie Bingo
2016-06-15 17:30 - 20:00 | The Hideout, 1354 W Wabansia, Chicago, IL, 60642, United States
NeighborSpace and The Hideout present Veggie Bingo! Every Wednesday evening from June 15th – August 31st. All proceeds benefit Chicago community gardens and gardening organizations:

Wednesday, June 15: Chicago Community Gardeners Association
Wednesday, June 22: El Paseo Community Garden
Wednesday, June 29: Winthrop Harmony Arts Garden
Wednesday, July 6: Fulton Street Flower and Vegetable Garden
Wednesday, July 13: Children’s Garden of Hope/Humboldt Park
Wednesday, July 20: The Oscar Meyer Magnet School Garden Project
Wednesday, July 27: Hermitage Street Community Garden
Wednesday, August 3: Bush Community Garden/Children’s Garden of Hope
Wednesday, August 10: North Lawndale Greening Committee
Wednesday, August 17: Jardincito Nature Play Garden
Wednesday, August 24: McKinley Library Park
Wednesday, August 31: South Merrill Community Garden

We’ll be bingo’ing away a cornucopia of prizes from the following Chicago stalwarts:

Big Shoulders Coffee
Dusty Groove Records
Improv Olympic Theater
Mana Food Bar
Music Box Theater
Olivia’s Market
Spinning J Bakery
…and more!

Games run 5:30-8 pm; kids are welcome as long as they’re with a responsible grownup. Bingo cards are $4 apiece or 3 for $10. Bring some food and have a fun night supporting Chicago community gardens!
Like us on Facebook for updates and more prize and garden info.

Learning Garden Leadership Awards Dinner
2016-06-14 17:30 - 20:00 | The Kitchen, 316 North Clark, Chicago, IL, 60654, United States
The Kitchen Community is a nonprofit organization that builds edible Learning Gardens in Chicago public schools. Learning Gardens serve as outdoor, experiential classrooms that expose kids to real, healthy food. To date, we have gardens in 115 schools across the city. On June 14th, we will be honoring 25 CPS teachers who are doing exemplary work using their Learning Garden as a tool for teaching. Please join us in celebrating their efforts!

Community Roots Demonstration & Community Garden Formal Opening - June 11th
2016-06-11 10:00 - 14:00 | Skinner Park, 1331 W Adams St., Chicago, IL, 60607, United States
The Community Roots Demonstration & Community Garden will formally open to the public on June 11 of this year with a full day of festivities to kick off the beginning of the programming season.
Located in Skinner Park on the Near West Side of Chicago, the garden will soon become home to a wide offering of classes and workshops, as well as opportunities for more passive and informal garden learning. Because this new space is being envisioned as a place for all of Chicago’s gardeners to gather, you’ll see many familiar faces from our green-thumbed community—Chicago Botanic Garden, Illinois Extension Master Gardeners, Chicago Honey Co-op, Social Ecologies, and more. Don’t forget to bring the kids; there will be tons of fun activities for them too. —plus, there will be a LOT of kid-friendly activities. We envision this space as a home for all of Chicago’s Gardeners. Join in the festivities June 11, 10am-2pm.

Green and Growing: A Speaker Series - Fearless Food Gardening in Chicagoland
2016-06-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Sulzer Regional Library, 4455 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL, 60625, United States
Tuesday, June 7 at 7pm – Fearless Food Gardening in Chicagoland
Speaker: LaManda Joy, founder of Peterson Garden Project as well as author of Start a Community Garden: The Essential Handbook

Green and Growing: A Speaker Series - Perennials, The Economizers of the Edible Landscape
2016-05-18 19:00 - 21:00
Wednesday, May 18 at 7pm – Perennials, The Economizers of the Edible Landscape
Speaker: Lisa Hilgenberg, horitculturalist for the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden

CCGA Coordinating Meeting Saturday May 14th at 11am
2016-05-14 11:00 - 13:00 | Chicago Center for Green Technology (CCGT), 445 N Sacramento, Chicago, IL, 60612, United States
Please join us at 11am Saturday May 14th at the Chicago Center for Green Technology at 445 N. Sacramento Blvd. The meeting agenda includes: CCGA Working Team reports on: Tasks for 2016 and Budget (income and expenses); Calendar for the year to include dates for coordinating meetings, plant distributions, workshops (see conference evaluation list) and the 2017 CCGA Annual Conference. We’ll meet on the 2nd floor, after the Vegetable Seedling Distribution. You’ll find parking behind the building.

Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse Plant Sale May 14th and 15th
2016-05-14 10:00 - 2016-05-15 14:00 | Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse, 3501 N. Kilbourn, Chicago, IL, 60641, United States
Help us celebrate our 20th year! Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse will offer more than 150 varieties of organically-grown vegetable, herb, and flower seedlings. Customers can expect a wide variety of open-pollinated and heirloom tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. Other highlights include an assortment of herbs, greens and onions. This year will feature many new plants selected for city gardening in small spaces and containers. These seedlings are grown with the support of a team of dedicated volunteers who make this Plant Sale possible. Volunteers will be on hand to answer questions about plant selection and planting. This yearly fundraiser supports the greenhouse and our work to connect kids to nature and healthy foods.
Also Available at the Plant Sale: Perennials and other plants donated by volunteers of the Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse, organic compost, and light snacks. In addition, a cookbook compiled by the Friends of Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse will be available for purchase. Look for the Friends of Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse tables just outside the main gate to the gardens.
Dates: May 14th and 15th (10am – 2pm)
Plant Prices ($2.00 to $5.00) CASH ONLY
*Sunday there will be a kids station with hands on planting activities to help jump start their green thumbs!
Where: Kilbourn Park – 3501 North Kilbourn Avenue Greenhouse , Chicago, IL 60641
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1228495890495388/
Event Bright: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kilbourn-parks-organic-gh-plant-sale-tickets-24495198799

DÍA DE SIEMBRA /PLANTING DAY at El Paseo
2016-05-14 10:00 - 14:00 | El Paseo Community Garden, 966 W. 21st St, Chicago, IL, United States
Si llueve sera el próximo día Domingo 15 de Mayo
If it rains we will reschedule for the next day, Sunday May 15th
• Limpiar/ Clean-up
• Sembrar cajas compartidas/Plant shared beds
• Formar equipos para / Make teams for shared
• Convivo /Pot-Luck
Traigan un platillo para compartir! / Bring a dish to share!
El PASEO
COMMUNITY GARDEN
(773) 234-6168

Howard Area Community Garden's 1st Spring Plant Sale May 14th and 15th
2016-05-14 09:00 - 2016-05-15 15:00 | Howard Area Community Garden, 1715-25 W. Juneway Terrace, Chicago, IL, 60626, United States
The Howard Area Community Garden‘s first Spring Plant Sale will be in full swing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15, in our garden at the corner of Hermitage and Juneway in the North of Howard neighborhood (Rogers Park). We will have over 1300 plants, representing 30 varieties, all grown using organic methods and materials by volunteers. All proceeds will go towards improving this wonderful little community garden, founded in 1982. We’ve posted a list of our plants over on our blog: http://howardareacommunitygarden.blogspo…

CCGA Vegetable Seedling Distribution May 14, 9am
2016-05-14 09:00 - 12:00 | Chicago Center for Green Technology (CCGT), 445 N Sacramento, Chicago, IL, 60612, United States
Vegetable Seedling Distribution
445 N. Sacramento Blvd
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Register Now!
The Resources Committee has grown hundreds of vegetable seedlings to kick-start your gardens: 18 types of tomatoes (including some gorgeous heirlooms), sweet and hot peppers, kale, rosemary, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, parsley, basil and collards. We will also have a variety of ornamental annuals, including asclepias, ageratum, datura, impatiens, rudbeckia, snapdragons, marigolds, verbena bonariensis, pentas, talinum, salvia and nasturtiums…whew! Each community garden will receive a large pre-selected sampler box of goodies. Bonus items: lucky winners (we’ll explain) will get to choose from a selection of beautiful perennials donated by our good friends at Westover Farms.
Registration Fee – $5.00
Pre-Register with your name, name of garden, address of community garden and contact email to: Mamie Gray mamie@uic.edu
Check-In: 9:00am to 9:30am
Workshop: 9:30am to 10:00am
“Building a Better Tomato Cage”
Distribution: 10:00am to 11:00am
One Sampler Box Per Garden.
This event is for Community Gardens only.
No Private, Home, or Backyard gardens.

Building Healthy Soil
2016-05-14 09:00 - 12:00 | Arturo Velasquez Institute Greenhouse, 2800 S Western Ave , Chicago, IL, 60608, United States
Learn about composting, vermicomposting, cover cropping, and other soil-building techniques. This workshop will cover soil testing and pH for vegetable crops. Healthy soil is the key to healthy plants! This workshop is instructed by Joan Hopkins, 2007 Windy City Harvest graduate and Windy City Harvest Corps Coordinator.
Saturday, May 14th, 2016 9 a.m. – noon Arturo Velasquez Institute Greenhouse Register Online – http://www.chicagobotanic.org/education/windy_city_harvest

Green and Growing: A Speaker Series - Weird Vegetables
2016-05-09 19:00 - 21:00 | Sulzer Regional Library, 4455 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL, 60625, United States
Monday, May 9 at 7pm –Weird Vegetables – Weird vegetables to grow and how to grow things weirdly!
Speaker: Amanda Thomsen, author of Kiss My Aster: A Graphic Guide to Creating a Yard Totally Tailored to You

Openlands presents "Organizing Your Community Garden" Training
2016-05-07 09:30 - 12:30 | Breakthrough Ministries Familyplex, 3219 W. Carroll Ave., Chicago, IL, 60624, United States
Join us to learn how to organize all aspects of the garden from recruiting members and gaining supporters to practical ways to self organize including using apps to keep track of projects. We will also show you how to create a design map for your site. Sign up here!
For more info contact us at gardens@openlands.org.

Peterson Garden Project Plant & Bake Sale: Hot Crops
2016-05-06 12:00 - 16:00 | 5035 North Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640, 5035 N Broadway, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Shop the Peterson Garden Project Pop-Up Plant Sale and get your garden growing! This year’s plant sale is going to be our biggest yet! We’ll have a wide selection of plants, seeds and seedlings. And since this is Chicago gardening, we’ve curated the selection of plants with small spaces and wacky weather in mind – including some varieties not available anywhere else in Chicago – such as a dwarf tomato grown exclusively for Peterson Garden Project. We’ll also have a range of edible flowers, herbs and a soil salon – everything you need to help you get your 2016 garden in shape. Plus, we’ll have expert gardeners on hand to help with plant selection and offer advice. The May sale will also include a bake sale and special events for Mom on Mother’s Day.
SALE HOURS
FRI 5/6: 12PM – 4PM
SAT 5/7: 10AM – 4PM
SUN 5/8: 10AM – 4PM
Find a list of plants that will be available and more details about the plant sales here.
This is Peterson Garden Project’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Proceeds from the plant sale help fund our community gardens and community cooking school. Buy local and grow local.

Winthrop Harmony Arts Garden - Youth Theater Ensemble
2016-04-30 13:00 - 15:00 | Broadway Armory Park, 5713 N. Broadway , Chicago, IL, 60660, United States
Hiring Young People for a youth theater ensemble (ages 15 and up)
Pay: $8.25 hour
Hours of employment: Saturdays starting May 14 through August 14 ( will be working approximately 4 to 5 hours each Saturday)
Young People will produce:
THE BEAN/ THE BEING — When lazy Jack returns home having traded the milk cow for beans, his mortified mother exclaims: “And as for your precious beans here they go out of the window! Off to bed with you! Not a sup shall you drink and not a bit shall you swallow this very night.” THE BEAN will be a play, loosely based on Jack and the Beanstalk, exploring youth/parent relations, poverty and hunger, a world of giants, and the magic of the good ole sustainable bean that impacts nutrition globally.
HOW THE BEAN IS CREATED and COMMUNITY IMPACT —Martie Sanders, teaching artist with Green Scene Chicago, will mentor 6-person teen theater ensemble in growing pole beans and other flora as the set at Winthrop Harmony Arts Garden and then help them create THE BEAN through writing and improvising. It will be offered free to Uptown audiences who will sample fresh beans dishes from all over the world. The final show will involve nutrition education and reach children in Uptown.
Teens interested in being a part of this innovative ensemble should come to the Summer Youth Jobs Fair at the The Broadway Armory — this weekend on Saturday April 30 — 1-3 pm and find Martie Sanders at GREEN SCENE booth.
Those teens who cannot meet Martie face to face on Saturday should connect by email and show interest: Martie@greenscenechicago.org
www.greenscenechicago.org

Peterson Garden Project Plant Sale: Cool Crops
2016-04-22 12:00 - 16:00
Shop the Peterson Garden Project Pop-Up Plant Sale and get your garden growing! This year’s plant sale is going to be our biggest yet! For the April sale, we’ll have a wide selection of edible cool-weather seedlings, seed potatoes and seeds. And since this is Chicago gardening, we’ve curated the selection of plants with small spaces and wacky weather in mind. We’ll also have a range of herbs and a soil salon featuring our favorite fertilizers and composts – everything you need to help you get your 2016 garden in shape. Plus, we’ll have expert gardeners on hand to help with plant selection and offer advice.
SALE HOURS
FRI 4/22: 12PM – 4PM
SAT 4/23: 10AM – 4PM
Find a list of plants that will be available and more details about the plant sales. Don’t forget to attend our second sale in May for warm-weather seedlings.
This is Peterson Garden Project’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Proceeds from the plant sale help fund our community gardens and community cooking school. Buy local and grow local.

El Paseo Community Garden - Opening Day/Apertura de Jardin
2016-04-16 10:00 - 14:00 | El Paseo Community Garden, 966 W. 21st St, Chicago, IL, United States
GARDEN OPENING DAY / APERTURA DE JARDÍN EL PASEO COMMUNITY GARDEN
www.elpaseogarden.org
(773) 234-6168
elpaseo.communitygarden@neighbor-space.org
VENGAN Y AYUDANOS! COME AND HELP US!
GARDEN OPENING DAY
• Pintar/ Paint
• Limpiar/ Clean-up
• Hablar sobre tierra/ Soil Talk
• Convivo de Comida / Pot Luck
Traigan un platillo para compartir! Bring a dish to share!
SABADO, 16 DE ABRIL
SATURDAY, APRIL 16TH
10AM-2PM
944 W. 21st Street Chicago, IL 60608

Hermitage Street Community Garden - Opening Day 2016
2016-04-16 09:30 - 12:00 | Hermitage St Community Garden, 5643 S Hermitage Ave, Chicago, IL, United States
If you are interested in growing your own organic groceries this year, interested in workshops about seed starting, composting, growing herbs and veggies, how to cook the nutritious vegetables you grow? And much, much more, come garden with us!
Contact our Garden Director at hermitagestreetcommunitygarden@gmail.com.

Englewood Veteran’s Garden - 2016 Opening Day
2016-04-16 09:30 - 12:00 | Englewood Veteran’s Garden, 5705 S. Hermitage street,, Chicago, IL, United States
Rain or shine! The OPENING DATE for the 2016 garden growing season will be SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2016, 9:30am.
If you are interested in growing your own organic groceries, interested in workshops about wellness, seed starting, composting, growing herbs and veggies, how to cook the nutritious vegetables you grow and many more activities? Come garden with us!

Garden Project Director Email: englewoodvetgarden@gmail.com

Chicago FarmWorks Volunteer Days
2016-04-16 09:00 - 12:00 | Chicago FarmWorks, 407 N Kedzie, Chicago, IL, United States
Chicago FarmWorks fights two issues associated with poverty: unemployment and hunger. Utilizing a two acre farm in the East Garfield Park neighborhood, we distribute local produce of the highest quality to those who need it most, and help people overcoming multiple barriers to employment find full-time, permanent, viable jobs. We invite community members to join us on the farm to volunteer. Get your hands dirty, have fun, and learn more about urban agriculture!
Volunteer days are help the third Saturday or Sunday of the month from 9am to 12pm. Youth 12 and older are welcome when accompanied by a responsible adult, with up to 3 youth per adult.
The farm includes a small shaded area, portable bathroom, and running water at the site, but facilities are limited. Please dress for the weather and bring water, snacks, and sunscreen.

CCGA Coordinating Meeting Saturday April 9th 2016 at Green Tech Center
2016-04-09 11:00 - 13:00 | Chicago Center for Green Technology (CCGT), 445 N Sacramento, Chicago, IL, 60612, United States
CCGA Coordinating Meeting – 11am Saturday April 9th 2016 at Chicago Center for Green Technology – 445 N Sacramento Blvd.
This coordinating meeting agenda will focus on response and evaluations from the CCGA annual conference. The meeting starts at 11am at the Chicago Center for Green Technology on the 2nd floor after the plant distribution. Parking is behind the building.

History of Community Gardens
2016-04-09 10:00 - 11:30 | Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse, 3501 N. Kilbourn, Chicago, IL, 60641, United States
Join us for this weekend’s event on April 9th from 10-11:30/12. Please come out and listen to an educational talk about the History of Community Gardens by Freyja Conrad. It should be a great talk and will hopefully help gear you up by becoming apart of that social history.

CCGA Spring Flower Distribution Saturday April 9th at 9am
2016-04-09 09:00 - 11:00 | Chicago Center for Green Technology (CCGT), 445 N Sacramento, Chicago, IL, 60612, United States
The CCGA Resources Committee will hold its annual Spring Flower Distribution at 9am April 9, 2016 at the Center for Green Technology, 445 N. Sacramento. Pansies, cerinthe, delphiniums, alyssum, linaria, nemesia: all good early pollen sources for our insect friends, and beautiful colors for us! More details will be posted soon on the CCGA web site.

MidFex Grafting Workshop – Fruit Trees for Your Garden – Sunday April 3rd
2016-04-03 13:00 - 17:00 | Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd, Glencoe, IL, 60022, United States
The single best resource for growing fruit trees in community gardens in the Chicago area – MidFex is a club of fruit tree growers located here in Chicago. The MidFex grafting workshop will be held this year at the Chicago Botanic Garden on Sunday April 3rd, 2016 at 1pm, and will be your chance to graft and take back to your gardens dwarf fruit trees.
For more information see the MidFex website at: http://www.midfex.org/
