Welcome to Emeryville's Community Organic Gardens!

The City of Emeryville and community groups own and operate 3 community gardens within the city limits. Contact information for each of the garden’s coordinators can be found on the right side of this page.

Emeryville Community Organic Garden

• Located at 59th Street and Doyle Street
• 30 garden plots
• Open to the public when garden members or Friends of the Garden are present.
• Applications being accepted for waiting list. PLEASE NOTE, HOWEVER, THAT THE WAIT LIST IS OVER 40 PEOPLE AND THE WAIT IS OVER 4 YEARS, AS OF OCTOBER, 2022. 
• Contact coordinator for info on becoming a Friend of the Garden.

  • How to Join: 

  • To be placed on the waiting list, you need to complete and return an ECOG application. PLEASE NOTE, HOWEVER, THAT THE WAIT LIST IS OVER 40 PEOPLE AND THE WAIT IS OVER 4 YEARS, AS OF OCTOBER, 2022. There is a $10 non-refundable application fee that applies to your first year’s dues. It can be paid via PayPal at the address on the application. 
  • If you have any questions, you can contact coordinator James Morris at jamesmorris@hotmail.com.

  • Fees:

  • $10 non-refundable application fee for waiting list
  • $60 annual membership dues 

Eligibility & Waitlists

• Membership in the gardens is granted to Emeryville residents and those living in the immediate adjoining areas of Oakland in the 94608 zip code area. The Temescal Creek garden has slightly different eligibility rules due to how it was funded-- first priority for plots will go to residents of 94608 who live in an area identified as a "disadvantaged community" as defined by California State Parks. Most of the area is on or east of San Pablo Avenue.
• The 3 gardens combined serve approximately 85 people interested in community gardening. The original Emeryville Community Organic Garden on Doyle Street has a long waiting list, with a current wait of up to three years. Big Daddy's Complete Rejuvenating Community Garden and the Temescal Creek Community Organic Garden usually have shorter waiting lists.
• Friend of the Garden is a special non-gardening membership category that allows access to the garden in exchange for being a host to visitors who stop by. Friends are people who enjoy spending time in the gardens at their convenience. They may or may not be residents of 94608, and often they are people who live or work in the vicinity of the individual gardens. In order to learn more, please contact the coordinator of the garden you are interested in. 

History of Emeryville's Community Organic Gardens

The Emeryville Community Organic Garden, located at 59th and Doyle Streets, was established in 1992 through the efforts of a community group lead by then-resident Elaine Drukman. A second garden, located at Peralta and West MacArthur, was built in 2002 primarily through the efforts of resident Vickie Sowell. The second garden is known as Big Daddy's Complete Rejuvenating Community Garden and was named after the auto business that once existed on the site. The City of Emeryville originally leased both garden sites from the property owners at the time. Big Daddy's site is still being leased by the City and subleased to the community gardeners. In 2004, the Emeryville Community Organic Garden was removed for the Doyle Street Greenway project, at which time the City purchased the land and rezoned it a public park. At the completion of the Greenway project in 2005, the garden was rebuilt on the same site. Both gardens were built entirely by volunteers and funding for the construction came from the City and from local donors. In 2008, the Emeryville Redevelopment Agency acquired a small residential parcel at 1042 48th Street with the plan to build a new garden on the site. Development was delayed by remediation and legal issues, and by the elimination of the Emeryville Redevelopment Agency in 2011. In 2014 the City was finally able to secure funding and work out all the issues that allowed for the building of Temescal Creek Community Organic Garden (TEMCOG). The work was done by a combination of paid contracts and volunteer labor.