GrowBoston

Public Works is providing free compost deliveries to communal gardens, including gardens at libraries, community centers, nonprofits, and community gardens. Please find more information about the program, pick up dates/times, and request a delivery here. The opportunity to pick up compost is available for individual community gardeners. More information can be found here.

There are several requirements you must meet in order to receive a delivery:

1. Gardens are responsible for ensuring their entrance is large enough for a 10 foot wide truck to fit through. 
2. There must be a place to dump the compost.
3. Compost will not be dumped on sidewalks or active roadways.
4. Entrances must be clear at time of delivery, please notify neighbors not to block the entrance if needed.

Please note: the smallest amount of compost they deliver is two cubic yards. As a rule of thumb, 1 cubic yard of compost spread a quarter-inch thick will cover roughly 1,200 square feet (a 30ft x 40ft rectangle) of garden beds. They will not pick up leftover compost. You could consider having a delivery and announcing to your community that they can pick up compost for their garden beds from the leftover compost.

Another option that is available is for organizations to bring their own containers/bags and pick up compost at Landscape Express on American Legion Highway. They are still figuring out the exact dates and times that would be available.

Please email camilla.elvis@boston.gov with any questions.

GrowBoston is excited to announce the 2026 Education Grant Grantees. Take a look at each of the grantees' project write ups below!

The Trustees of Reservations

To pilot a Master Urban Gardener course in Spanish, hire interpreters for garden education events, and host an herbalism workshop series in Haitian Creole and Spanish.

City Sprouts, Inc.

To provide urban agriculture and science education after school and during the summer for middle school students at Orchard Gardens K-8 in Roxbury and Henderson K-12 Inclusion School in Dorchester.

North End Community Health Committee Inc (NEW)

To provide a series of five urban agriculture workshops designed to build knowledge and skills around food growing and healthy eating for Charlestown residents.

The Food Project

To deliver a 6-week summer program for middle schoolers at the Marshall Community Center, focused on gardening, food systems, and community leadership through interactive workshops and hands-on activities in raised-bed gardens.

Neighborhood Grow Plan

To facilitate three in-depth workshops for 75 people designed to strengthen community resilience through hands-on ecological learning, expressive arts, and peer-to-peer teaching.

Eastie Farm

To facilitate a series of 9 workshops for the broader community on topics including garden planning, rainwater as a resource, pollinators, composting, seed saving, and more.

The New Garden Society

To offer a new Winter Horticulture Intensive, a 6-week course on horticultural topics for individuals who are incarcerated.

Sociedad Latina

To provide four bilingual urban agriculture education workshops for youth on the use and maintenance of a brand new greenhouse at the Tobin Community Center.

Heal the Hood

To provide 6 garden education workshops for families at BHA communities in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, topics including natural growing techniques, nutrition, food preservation, and more.

Haley House

To provide four workshops for Roxbury residents at Thornton Street Farm, topics including sustainable gardening, food preservation, pollinators, and culinary connections.

South Asian Workers Center

To facilitate workshops on seed-saving and container gardening, create a community-managed seed bank, and develop small home or shared gardens.

Boston Food Forest Coalition

To facilitate 25 public educational workshops on topics including vegetable growing, fruit tree planting, permaculture design, herbalism, soil ecology, etc.

The Beekeeping Ordinance, passed by City Council in February 2024, will make Boston beekeeping more accessible than ever.

Boston residents can now keep bees for personal use anywhere in the city.  Previously, beekeeping was regulated with the same requirements as keeping other livestock, which significantly limited the areas in which it was allowed. Residents must register their beehives on their property and pay a one-time registration fee.

Boston’s Inspectional Services Department has established its beekeeping registration process, which is outlined on the Inspectional Services website.

Please reach out to Shani Fletcher, Director of GrowBoston, at shani.fletcher@boston.gov or 617-635-0466, for support regarding the registration process, or if you would like to engage in future beekeeping-related resources and opportunities.

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