Community Garden

All Community Garden Content

Community Gardens

Community gardens, organized by SDSU Extension staff and community volunteers, bring fresh produce to many rural communities and designated food deserts across the state.

A pair of hands transplanting a tomato seedling in a black, plastic pot.

Promoting Safe Community Gardening Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

May 05, 2020

SDSU Extension experts have established guidelines for community gardens to follow in order to promote the health and safety of local gardeners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A young native american man handing a customer a canvas bag.

Native American Gardens

Learn more about Native American community garden projects throughout South Dakota and access helpful resources with information on starting up Native American community garden projects.

Are you thinking about growing your own fresh vegetables this year, maybe for the first time? In addition to the satisfaction of providing fresh, nutritious and delicious produce for yourself and family or friends, many find working with plants and soil to be a great antidote for the worries and frustrations of the day.

Flooded Gardens

Soil from gardens that were recently flooded may not be safe for growing fruit and vegetables this summer. Depending on the location, flood waters may contain contaminants or disease-causing organisms.

A collage of various plant diseases. Courtesy: USDA (iStock)

Plant and Weed Resources

Consult these resources for answers to common plant and weed issues, including: plant characteristics, plant problems (diseases, insects, and abiotic), plant selection and management, and weed identification and control.

cluster of bright red raspberries with small black beetles burrowed inside some berries.

Picnic Beetles on Raspberries

Picnic beetles, a small beetle that loves fermenting fruit (and potato salad at picnics), commonly feed on raspberries. The beetle can quickly ruin a ripe raspberry as they burrow around inside the fruit.

What's Bugging Your Garden? Cucumber Beetles

Striped cucumber beetles are little yellow and black striped beetles that are fairly small, but what they lack in size they make up for in numbers and appetite.

A yellow-orange insect with 10 narrow stripes running down the length of its body.

What’s Bugging Your Garden? Colorado Potato Beetles

Colorado potato beetles have become all too common in many home gardens and also in community gardens where potatoes are commonly grown. If left untreated, they can defoliate potato plants, drastically cutting yields of the delicious tubers that so many of us love to eat.

small garden plot with small rows and two wooden tomato cages

Tips to Make More Efficient Use of Your Garden Space

If you don’t have much garden space it is important to get the most from what space you have available.