Sep 19th, 2025

Community Gardens Grow Connections 

Did you know, OCH is home to 45 community gardens across the city? The gardens give residents a chance to grow food, get to know their neighbours and enjoy being outdoors.  

How do our partners help?  

This year, a grant from Just Food and the support of volunteer groups helped OCH install 65 new garden boxes.  

Just Food provides a Community Garden Development Fund to support the installation costs of gardens. They also offer support in the form of gardening tips and tricks.  

Senior Organic Growers provide workshops and seedlings to seniors living in Ottawa.  

Who’s responsible for the gardens?  

Gardens thrive when residents take the lead—planting, weeding, and rallying volunteers to keep them green. Small efforts have grown into a tenant-led movement, creating spaces where people feel empowered and connected.  

The need  

As the cost of groceries continues to rise, community gardens offer an opportunity for tenants to access fresh fruits and vegetables.   

Garden guide: Keeping your produce over the winter  

There are lots of things you can do with your vegetables to keep them good through the winter.  

• Vegetables can be blanched quickly in boiling water, then put in bags or containers in your freezer.  

• Vegetables can be dried by slicing them thinly, laying them on a baking sheet, then placed in your oven, on very low heat, for an hour or two. 

• Store in a jar or cupboard  

• Many kinds of vegetables will keep well in a cool, dark place, such as a basement, over the winter. Potatoes, turnips, beets, carrots, onions, garlic, pumpkin and winter squash are the best. Make sure they are kept cool, and not too damp.  

• Check regularly to watch for possible decay. Store vegetables where they do not have to be piled on top of each other and lightly cover them to shield them from light and extreme temperature changes. 

Visit https://justfood.ca/gardenguide/ to read the full garden guide – it’s available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin. 

Interested in starting a community garden? Reach out to your Community Developer or email communitygardens@ottawa.ca. They can connect you with the right resources.