Temescal Open Edible Gardens is an annual neighborhood event and a year-round community open to everyone.
We’d love you to join us—whether you're a seasoned gardener, just starting out, or simply curious to meet your neighbors. We're all about sharing tips, swapping seeds, and learning from each other in a hands-on way. There are no gardening secrets here, just neighbors sharing what works and celebrating the delicious results together.
What We Do
Our cornerstone event is the annual Temescal Open Edible Garden Day each summer, when participating gardens throw open their gates for a neighborhood-wide tour. Everyone—gardeners and non-gardeners alike—is invited to wander through participating gardens, discover what neighbors are growing, taste local produce, and exchange stories and skills. The event began in 2023 with nine gardens and over 70 visitors, and has since grown to welcome more than 200 visitors into over 20 Temescal gardens. It's a fantastic day to get inspired, ask questions, and see the creative ways your neighbors are growing food.
Throughout the year, you can also find us hosting casual skill-shares and seed swaps. Join us to meet fellow gardeners, get great ideas for your own space, and be part of what makes Temescal vibrant.
Why We Do It
Gardens are a natural starting point for connection. Whether it’s seeing how someone grows tomatoes in a small space, asking how to compost, or learning a new herb to cook with, Temescal Open Edible Gardens creates space for people to share what they know, learn something new, and enjoy the richness of our neighborhood in a fresh, grounded way.
Team
Temescal Open Edible Gardens is made up of an open, growing community of volunteers, gardeners, and visitors. We hope you’ll join us! Here are some of the folks who keep us moving forward
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Kelly Cannon
Lead
I tend to grow various herbs and aromatics, make ambitious plans to cook with them, and then (semi-) accidentally let them go to seed—but I get to enjoy the flowers and scent! -
Stephanie Hornung
Digital team lead
So so many apples! But mostly I’ll make anything into a tea. -
Jonny Prestidge
Copywriter & brand
My favorite thing to grow in my garden is hot peppers because the pests don’t eat them and I use them to make fermented hot sauce, pickled peppers, and hot honey! -
Yann Brown
Community event host, gardener, and partnerships
My favorite is small heads of lettuce and big bright salads -
Milli Harris
Garden recruiter and gardener
My pluot tree grows really delicious fruit and I’ve only ever eaten them straight off the tree! -
Sue Mark
Community event host, gardener, and partnerships
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Don Stahlhut
Community advisor
I love lettuce......for garden fresh salads! -
Joanie Mitchell
Artist-in-residence
Community Support
Chris Kirby · Chair, Temescal Neighbors
Our backyard garden has been home to many plants and vegetables over the past 15 years, and we have gone through a few different planting designs, with the addition of a greenhouse this month. My all time favorites are still going strong today: the Hydrangea plant my grandmother sent me from her garden, the bird of paradise that has taken over the corner of our yard and the heirloom artichoke plant that has been getting bigger and better over the past 7 years. We steam these as soon as they are ready to eat, and also include them in salads and pasta dishes
Sidewalk Trees & Gardens
Sincere thanks to our fantastic fiscal sponsors at Sidewalk Trees & Gardens! Their mission is planting trees in high need areas and transforming abandoned public land into vibrant green space, and you can visit their Temescal Street Garden on Dover between 43rd and 44th Street.
Contact us
Interested in joining us or just have questions? We can’t wait to hear from you!