The Littleton Pea Patch has been a community garden for more than 40 years. It is located just east of downtown Littleton between the Rose Memorial Garden and Colorado Center for the Blind.
- Address: 2171 W Shepperd Avenue, Littleton, CO
- Contact us: Email or call 303-730-1920
- This garden is not open to the public. For more information on how to rent a garden plot, visit the City of Littleton website.
Building Community
A demonstration garden tended by Arapahoe County Master Gardeners – where neighbors grow together and share every harvest with families who need it most.
Since 2011 we have donated over 25,000 pounds of produce. Last season we donated 2,100 pounds. The Pea Patch has served the community for over 40 years.
Who We Are
The Littleton Pea Patch has been a beloved corner of the City of Littleton’s community garden for more than 40 years. We are a plot tended by trained volunteers in the Arapahoe County Master Gardener program – science-backed gardeners who love getting their hands in the soil and sharing what they know.
Since 2011, our plot has had a single mission: grow the best possible food and donate it freely to local food banks. Along the way, we have built lasting friendships with our fellow Pea Patch gardeners and with the community we serve.
“We’re not just growing vegetables. We’re growing relationships
with the land and with our community.”
– ARAPAHOE COUNTY MASTER GARDENER VOLUNTEER
Community in Action
The Pea Patch is stronger because of the generous spirit of our neighbors. In 2025, Girl Scout Troop #65595 took that spirit to a whole new level – raising funds and rolling up their sleeves to build brand new raised beds for our master gardener plot.
A huge thank you to Girl Scout Troop #65595 for your incredible effort in raising funds and building new raised beds for the master gardeners. Your hard work, generosity and community spirit are truly appreciated. The new beds help us grow and share even more with our neighbors in need. Your contribution will have a long-lasting impact. We couldn’t have done it without you!
– THE PEA PATCH MASTER GARDENER TEAM
Left: Members of Girl Scout Troop 65595 along with their parents hard at work building raised garden beds for the master gardener volunteers. Right: Members of Girl Scout Troop 65595 pose beside the raised garden beds they built and donated to the Arapahoe County Master Gardener volunteers. Photos: Rana Van Leeuwen.
The master gardeners support the Pea Patch community through seasonal classes and timely resources. Classes cover a range of practical topics – from growing prize-worthy tomatoes and identifying local pollinators to diagnosing and managing common pests and diseases. Each month, they also publish The Pea Patch Dispatch (see below), a newsletter delivering the latest science-based gardening guidance to help every gardener get the most from their plot.
What We Grow
Everything in the Pea Patch is organically grown because we believe good food should be safe for everyone who eats it. Our volunteers plant and tend a wide variety of vegetables and herbs throughout the season, harvesting regularly to keep produce as fresh as possible for donation.
- Kale and Swiss chard
- Tomatoes and peppers
- Cucumbers, zucchini and summer squash
- Carrots and other root vegetables
- Rhubarb
- Fresh herbs including basil, tarragon and dill
Who We Feed
Every pound we grow goes directly to food banks serving families across our community. Since 2011, we have donated over 25,000 pounds of fresh, organic produce – food that might otherwise be hard to access for neighbors facing food insecurity. We partner with local food banks who distribute produce quickly, ensuring it arrives fresh and nutritious. Our volunteers make regular deliveries throughout the growing season each summer.
OUR FOOD BANK PARTNERS
Parish Pantry at St. Mary’s Catholic Church
A long-standing partner in our mission to combat food insecurity, Parish Pantry in Littleton, staffed entirely by volunteers, opens its doors every Monday to provide a steady supply of groceries for neighbors right here in our community.
Life Center Littleton
Based on South Datura Street in Littleton, the Life Center is a full community resource center serving neighbors facing hardship. Their food bank provides emergency support for individuals and families in short-term need, as well as long-term assistance for seniors, people with disabilities and those managing chronic illness – all in a warm, welcoming environment.
Backpack Society
Backpack Society exists for one reason: to make sure no child in our community goes hungry over weekends and school breaks. This 100% volunteer-run nonprofit partners with more than 70 schools across the Littleton, Douglas County and Englewood school districts. During the school year, they help send kids home on Fridays with a bag of six meals and snacks so they can come back to school on Monday ready to learn.
THE PEA PATCH DISPATCH
Welcome to another year of The Pea Patch Dispatch brought to you by the Arapahoe County Extension Master Gardener volunteers. We hope you found our tips helpful last year and plan to provide you with even more science-based information this year so you get the most from your garden. If there are particular vegetable garden topics or questions you’d like answered in the Dispatch, send them to us at cmgppatch@gmail.com We’re always looking for suggestions.
THE RESULTS ARE IN
Are the plants in your garden not flourishing like they used to? Maybe your big heirloom tomatoes are the size of cherries. Before you add fertilizer or organic material, consider getting your soil tested by the CSU testing lab. A soil test will tell you whether there are low, high or optimal levels of many nutrients in your garden soil. The lab’s website has info on costs, how to do a soil test and how to interpret the results.
Master Gardener Talks at the Pea Patch
If you missed our session on Saturday, May 30 where we explored the science and myth of companion planting, check out this CO-HORTS blog to learn more about any science behind those online claims we see. Do plants make music, really?? 🎶
SAVE THE DATE
Join us on Saturday, June 13 at 10:00am to hear all about Diseases, Insects and Disorders in the Veg Garden where you’ll learn to identify the signs and symptoms of common problems and how best to handle them. See you there!
What’s Bugging Your Garden?
Noticing “shothole” damage to leaves in your garden? Are there tiny leaping insects? If so, you’re likely seeing flea beetles. Adult flea beetles feed on leaves making small holes resembling damage from fine buckshot. Young plants and seedlings are most susceptible to flea beetle damage. Serious infestations can kill plants. This fact sheet has great information on flea beetles and guidance on how to control them.
That orange spotted beetle isn’t a new lady beetle. It’s a Mexican Bean Beetle. Although related to the lady beetle, MBB prefers to nosh on your legume plants rather than aphids. You may notice skeletonized leaf damage or egg clusters on the underside on bean leaves. This fact sheet from Cornell University has tips on controlling them like using reflective plastic mulch under your plants. Apparently, MBB doesn’t like direct sunlight. 😎
Watering During Drought 💦
| We normally limit the Pea Patch Dispatch to items of most interest to vegetable gardeners. However, in this time of drought, we decided to expand our horizons to include the latest research-based guidance on the the best way to care for all of your home landscape in light of water restrictions. We’ll leave this information on the webpage so it’s available to you throughout the summer and into fall. CSU Fact Sheet 7.240 —Watering the Home Landscape During Drought — has detailed information and tips on how best to care for and water your lawn and trees along with flower, vegetable and fruit gardens during drought and water restrictions. If you have questions about this Fact Sheet or concerns about what’s happening in your landscape, the Master Gardeners are available Monday through Saturday by phone: 303-730-1920 and email: mastergardener@arapahoegov.com |
Donation bins will be delivered to the garden in July.
Extension Resources for Gardeners
CSU Extension has resources to help with your gardening questions throughout the year:
- CO-Horts Blog – gardening advice from CSU Extension Agents and Specialists.
- CSU Gardening Webinars – free monthly webinars on a variety of interesting topics.
- CSU’s PlantTalk – brief articles on a wide range of gardening topics.
- Extension Resources – science-based information for lawn and garden care.
- Garden Buzz Newsletter – get the latest seasonal gardening tips and updates from Arapahoe County Extension delivered to your inbox year-round.
Arapahoe County Extension – Contact the master gardener volunteers at 303-730-1920 or by email at mastergardener@arapahoegov.com.
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