Thank you for being the heartbeat of DUG Community Gardens. We recognize how important of a role you play in the garden, and our goal is to ensure you have all the resources you need to help your community garden thrive and to feel supported throughout the seasons.
We ask all Garden Leaders to utilize the resources listed below — they’re here to connect you with DUG staff and one another in support of that goal. If you have specific questions or concerns not addressed here, please contact [email protected].
Garden Leader Guide
The DUG Garden Leader Guide is a MUST READ for all Garden Leaders to understand the roles and responsibilities of Garden Leaders, as well as policies for community gardens in the DUG Network. It’s also the place to bookmark to get quick access to seasonal tips and resources.
DUG Online + Garden Leader Circle
DUG Online is an online forum to meet, exchange ideas, and get troubleshooting tips from other Garden Leaders! Stay in the loop about gardening tips, upcoming meetups, and need-to-knows throughout the gardening season.
GetConnected
Sign up for DUG’s GetConnected platform to schedule and manage your own volunteer workdays! Watch our video tutorial HERE get started and have a successful community-building season.
Quick Forms
Upcoming Events
Events
Ordering Compost
To order compost for your garden, be prepared to share your name and contact information, the name of your garden, all relevant delivery information, and the number of yards of compost.
A1 Organics
Deliveries are available from the Commerce City location
Capacity: 3-8 cubic yards available. If you’d like to order more that 8 yards, call to get a delivery quote
Call to order 970-454-3492 (ask for Sarah or LV). You can also email attn Sarah or LV at [email protected] and [email protected]. No cancellations within a week of the delivery date.
It is recommended to incorporate 0.25-0.5” of finished compost to the first 4-6” of garden soil each season. Newer gardens may need more compost, while more established gardens may need less compost.
To calculate the amount of compost needed for a single plot, enter the dimensions into this online compost calculator from A1 organics. Select “EcoGrow,” enter the length and width of your plot in feet, and the depth of compost you wish to apply.
An average 10’×12’ square plot needs less than 0.1 yard of compost, or 3 cubic feet of compost per season. For bulk compost orders, measure the average plot size (length & width). Multiple by the number of plots and enter these values into the calculator.
Example: For 10 plots measuring 10’x12’ enter the following values into the calculator: Length – 100, Width – 120, and Depth – 0.25
EcoGro compost is also sold in 1 cubic feet bags at local Ace Hardware Stores Denver’s Annual Compost Sale typically occurs the first week of May.
Garden Waste Pickup
We partner with companies who pick up bagged garden waste (in 30-gallon yard waste bags like these) and take them to get composted. Contact the vendors directly to arrange a pickup and tell them you are a DUG garden. They will bill DUG directly, and we will deduct it from your garden funds.
Scraps
- Pickup Area: All DUG gardens
- $100 flat fee for up to 25 bags
Contact [email protected] to arrange pickup
Wompost
- Pickup Area: Aurora, Greenwood Village and Centennial
- $1 per leaf bag
Contact [email protected] to schedule order and pickup
Donate Your Extra Produce
Learn more about how you can donate extra produce or create a donation plot at your community garden through our partnership with Fresh Food Connect.
Helpful Resources:
Download the App:
Download the Fresh Food Connect app and make an account for your garden! Local food utilities can identify surplus produce from urban farms and community gardeners and coordinate pick-ups through the app. The platform makes it easier for food utilities to source local organic produce and for gardeners to connect their extra harvest to local families in need.
DIY Resources
Resources for Accessibility in Gardens
Resources for
Unhoused Neighbors
Have any resources we should include? Email us at [email protected] with the Subject Line “Resources for Unhoused Neighbors” and we’ll add it here.
Emergency Responses
National
Trans Lifeline
- Phone Number: 877-565-8860
- Oprime 2 para hablar con uno/a operador/a en español
- 24/7 hotline
- National hotline run by trans people for trans people in crisis
- “Connects trans people to the community support and resources we need to survive and thrive.”
Denver Only
Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) Program
- Phone Number: 720-913-STAR (7827)
- 7 days a week, 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
- STAR “deploys Emergency Response Teams that include Emergency Medical Technicians and Behavioral Health Clinicians to engage individuals experiencing distress related to mental health issues, poverty, homelessness, and substance abuse.”
- 2022 Mid-Year Report
Denver Health’s Mobile Crisis Service:
- Phone Number: 844-493-8255, text “Talk” to 38255
- 24/7 service
- Provides mental health support to residents of the city and county of Denver and to the Mental Health Center of Denver clients during/after a crisis.
- Visit their Website
Outreach, Education, and Testing
Denver Only
Harm Reduction Action Center
- Office at 112 E. 8th Ave. provides syringe access to participants Monday – Friday from 9:00am – 12:00pm
- Phone Number: 303-572-7800
- Health education, street outreach, presentations, meetings, and administrative time happen each afternoon.
- “The Harm Reduction Action Center promotes public health by ensuring that people who inject drugs are educated and equipped with the tools to reduce the spread of communicable diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C and to eliminate the proliferation of fatal overdoses.”
- Services Include: Syringe Disposal (including in your garden spaces!), Naloxone and Narcan, STI Testing, Fentanyl Testing, Hygiene Products, Food Access, Safe Community Space, Referrals
- Visit their Website
LifePoint Needle Exchange, Vivent Health
- Office open for general services Monday – Friday from 8:30am – 5:00pm
- Request an appointment here
- Phone Number: 720-385-6898 (call or text)
- General Services Include: Behavioral & Mental Healthcare, Case Management, Pharmacy, Housing Services, Food Pantry, Dental Care, Medical Care, PrEP, HIV Testing, STI Testing, Lifepoint Needle Exchange, HCV Testing, HIV/HCV Education, Overdose Prevention & Naloxone
HeyDenver
- Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 4:00pm
- Phone Number: 303-962-2880
- Free, queer-centered, safe, and confidential STI & HIV testing for under/uninsured folks
- Safer substance/harm reduction tools
- Visit their Website
Jefferson County Only
Points West Syringe Services Program
- Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday: 10:00am – 5:00pm
- Phone Number: (303) 239-7078
- Harm reduction program committed to reducing the potential harms associated with drug use in a respectful, non-judgmental and compassionate environment.
- Safer substance/harm reduction tools including syringes, naloxone, fentanyl test trips, safer sex tools, everyday hygiene items, and more.
- Visit their Website
Food
Denver Only
Denver Community Fridges
- Locations Here
- For free, 24/7 access to refrigerated, frozen, and pantry goods, as supplies last.
Feeding Denver’s Hungry
- Visit their Website
- For free groceries multiple days a week
Metro Caring, Fresh Foods Market
- Visit their Website
- For free groceries multiple days a week
SAME Cafe
- Visit their Website
- For hot meals
Mutual Aid Monday
- Hours: Monday Nights, 4 – 7pm
- Location: 14th and Bannock
- For hot meals and mutual aid supplies
- Visit their Website
Food Not Bombs
- Sunday afternoons, 3pm (usually at 22nd and Stout, location changes. See @denverfoodnotbombs on Instagram for changing details)
- For hot meals
Front Range
Kaizen Food Rescue Community Pop-Up Food Share
- Calendar Here
- For free groceries multiple days a week
Food Bank of the Rockies
- Pantry Locator Here
- For free groceries multiple days a week
Shelter
Aurora Only
Comitis Crisis Center Emergency Housing
- Phone Number: (720) 505-2628
Emergency Cooling Stations in Aurora
Denver Only
Samaritan House (Women, Families, and Veterans)
- Phone Numbers:
- Samaritan House Downtown (Women 18+): (303) 294-0241
- Samaritan House 48th (Women 18+): (720) 799-9506
- Samaritan House Downtown Extended Stay (Single Women, Families, Veterans): (720) 799-9371
- Visit their Website
- Flyer
Dolores Project
Urban Peak (Youth)
Denver HOST Find Shelter tool
Cooling Stations at Denver Recreation Centers
Front Range
The Family Tree Homelessness Program Hotline
- Overview: Offers emergency shelter, an information help line, homeless prevention services, case management, education and employment services, and various other supportive services.
- Visit their Website
- Phone Number: (303) 467-2604
Apply for Safe Parking
History of Houselessness
Pipe Dreams and Picket Fences: Direction from Denver’s Houseless People on Housing Needs and Priorities in the Context of Today’s Public Housing (Housekeys Action Network Denver, 2023)
The Colorado State of Homelessness Report 2022 (Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, 2022)
Without Housing (Western Regional Advocacy Project, 2010)
Other Resources
Living in a Vehicle (Colorado Safe Parking)
- Visit Website
- Resources include free food, overnight shelters, day shelters, severe weather shelters, RV/Camping resources
Mile High United Way
- Visit Website
- Call 2-1-1
Denver Alternatives to 911 Sheet
Locating Housing Resource
Connect a Veteran to Housing
FindHelp
Resources for Disabled Gardeners
Have any resources we should include? Email us at [email protected] with the Subject Line “Resources for Disabled Gardeners” and we’ll add it here.