Homestead 1839, 701 W. Agency, West Burlington, Iowa
This garden is a collaborative project between the Des Moines County Master Gardeners and The Homestead 1839, a non-profit vegetable farm located in West Burlington. Homestead 1839 provided the land for the project and a dedicated group of Master Gardener volunteers tend the garden. All of the produce harvested from this garden is donated to local food pantries and community members in need.
This garden features a 3-bay compost system. If you'd like to build one like ours, check out this publication from Iowa State Extension & Outreach.
We have 10 raised beds at the donation garden. These were built as part of a Raised bed workshop in 2019. If you'd like to build something similar, check out our raised bed plans below.
Raised beds dry out quickly, so irrigation is essential for keeping plants healthy and happy. In past years, we used soaker hose, but this year we upgraded to pvc with holes drilled in it - our irrigation design was inspired by a Utah State Extension publication.