What is a Community Garden?  

Benefits of Community Gardens

• Improves the quality of life for people in the garden

• Provides a catalyst for neighborhood and community development
• Stimulates social interaction
• Encourages self-reliance
• Beautifies neighborhoods
• Produces nutritious food
• Reduces family food budgets
• Conserves resources
• Creates opportunity for recreation, exercise, therapy, and education
• Reduces crime
• Preserves green space
• Creates income opportunities and economic development
• Reduces city heat from streets and parking lots
• Provides opportunities for intergenerational and cross-cultural connections

Very simply, it is any piece of land gardened by a group of people. It can be one community plot, or can be many individual plots. It can be at a school, hospital, or in a neighborhood. It can also be a series of plots dedicated to "urban agriculture" where the produce is grown for a market. 

• Community gardens exist in our city, allowing city dwellers to reap the benefits of their labor.
• City of Albuquerque Community gardens usually provide everything you need: garden tools, water, and even expert advice!
• These Food Projects are part of a growing urban agriculture movement to improve access to culturally appropriate, high quality and nutritional food at all times by creating local sources.
• In this country, fruit and vegetables are plentiful, but much of it grows far from where we live. Research shows that the average distance a vegetable travels from the fields to the dinner table is 1,500 miles! Not only does produce lose much of its flavor before it gets to you, it also loses many nutrients. 

Try a Community Garden

Are you a farmer wanna be? Albuquerque Community gardens such as Rio Grande Community Gardens, Erda Gardens, Dragon Farms, Los Pablanos Organics, and Wells Park/Sawmill Neighborhood Gardens will get you started.

• They will help you with garden tools, water, and expert advice!
• The gardens grow food and crops for both people and wildlife.
• Many of the food crops are distributed to local organizations. They also market their crops at local Farmers Markets.
• Contact Rio Grande Community Gardens, or, Los Pablanos Organics to get started.

Enjoy Farmer's Markets Throughout the City 

We invite you to visit New Mexico's Farmers' Markets, offering you the freshest fruits and vegetables available anywhere. Meet the people who grow your food - face to face - and enjoy the vibrant flavors, aromas and colors of the New Mexico harvest. Our Albuquerque Markets are located at: Albuquerque area Farmers' Markets.

Albuquerque Downtown Market
Location: 8th & Central at Robinson Park
Schedule: Saturdays, 7 am - 11 am
Market Season: June 9th - late October
Contact: Eric Garretson, 243-2230. Email:peakorganic@yahoo.com

Nob Hill Growers' Market (Albuquerque)
Location: Morningside Park, 299 Morningside Dr. SE (Morningside Dr. & Lead)
Schedule: Thursdays, 3 pm - 6:30 pm
Market Season: May 17th - November 8th
Contact: Georgia Daves, 869-3553. Email:ggdaves03@yahoo.com

Albuquerque Growers' Market
Location: Alcazar Street, behind Talin World Market, SE corner of Central & Louisiana
Schedule: Saturdays and Tuesdays 7 am - 12 pm
Market Season: June 30th - end October
Contact: Ken Hays, 869-2369