Jo-Jo's Community garden was launched in 2017. Located in the ♥️ of Stittsville & is 100% organic. We have an insect hotel and sunflower garden too!
Exciting news for Stittsville – after a successful first season of growing vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs, flowers and more in 2017, Jo Jo's Community Garden is preparing to launch Phase 2 which will further develop the grounds to offer additional plots including above ground accessible plots. The Kassis family of Jo Jo's Pizza continue to offer the property behind their restaurant on Stittsvi
lle Main Street for the garden. As a symbol of their generosity, the garden is called "Jo Jo's Community Garden.”
The garden design is in the style of a Potager (also known as a kitchen garden). This type of garden is a blend of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and cutting flowers. Also, the garden is organic. Garden development is divided into four phases.
2017: Year 1/Phase 1 offered Stittsville Gardeners 30 plots varying in size: 5 x 5, 5 x 10, 10 x 10 and 10 x 20. Additionally, a sunflower garden was developed to encourage children participation, as well as a flower garden area and insect hotel to encourage pollinating..
2018: Year 2/Phase 2 will consist of preparing the ground for additional plots including above ground accessible plots. Year 3/Phase 3 and Year 4/Phase 4 will be a little different. Year 3/Phase 3 will be for family collaborations (e.g. if you want to share a plot with a family member who lives outside the community, this option will be available). Year 4/Phase 4 will be for special projects. Single plots will be dedicated to the Food Bank, a school (to support classroom education), and for children to learn to be responsible gardeners. Additionally, sixteen plots will be dedicated to above ground vegetable tables to support accessibility. The garden committee has applied for two grants. The first is with the Stittsville Horticultural Society and the second is with the Just Food organization. Depending on the amount of funds received, it will
determine how far development will go in Phase 1. The goal is to have the garden open to the community on the May 2-4 weekend. So, Stittsville we need your help. We need community volunteers. There's a lot of work ahead! Here is a list of things that we would like to call out to the community for support:
(1) Prepping the land. We will begin with sectioning off Phase 1 and will be renting rototillers. We will need at least 10 - 15 volunteers to assist. We plan to schedule this over two weekends. Depending on how fast the snow melts, this will be needed mid-April. This is hard work. (Anyone who wants a break from the gym, this would be a great change to your normal workout that will really show a great result). :)
(2) Assisting with the tearing down and re-building of the storage shed that the Kasis family donated. (This may already be filled) Any construction trades persons that have experience with concrete, carpentry and roofing. We need 3 - 4 volunteers. We have applied for a permit to take down the old shed and another permit for the building if the new shed. Many trades’ persons have already offered
their help. (3) Sectioning off the garden plots. This would require at least 10 volunteers. This would be required the May 14th weekend. (4) Organizers. We need 2 – 4 persons who will be able to assist with be managing the new applicants. Each garden member has to fill out a garden application form. Once their spot is available the person in charge of organizing will assign a plot to the gardener and record it on the master sheet. This will also include passing the garden info along to the person. (5) Making a compost area. For Phase 1, the compost area will be put the farthest away from the garden. Over the next few years, a more permanent area will be made for it. This compost would be fairly basic. The plan would be to attach some wooden pallets together. We need 2 – 4 volunteers for this. (6) Social media and news release help. We need help getting the word out and getting the community excited about the project! We are seeking beginners, intermediate and advance skill sets in PR and social media marketing. (7) Fund raising,
Possible ideas are to sell T-shirts. (8) Being part of the garden leaders team. Currently we are only four persons, and we need help with this! It’s a lot of work. Although this is completely non –profit, there is still basic accounting, expertise with gardening, help with letting the public know, and promoting this beautiful garden to all community members. We would like at least another four persons for this. One of the most important roles that we need help with is scheduling. We need someone who can keep us on track! (1 position filled) We have the assistance of an Ottawa Master Gardener who has offered to provide advice to garden members that would like to know how to grow organic vegetables. (9) Kids projects. This garden is really trying to encourage as much interaction with kids as possible. If we could have someone who is “crafty” be part of this, it would be a great asset. (10) Making signs. High school kids who need to get their volunteer hours, this is a great way to lend a hand and get your required hours! Other community members are welcome to join too. The signs will be basic, but creativity is definitely an asset. The garden project has the support of city councillor, Shad Qadri, The Stittsville Horticultural Society, and The Stittsville Village Association. CONTACT US
I want to take a moment to celebrate the talent of two very special young people who have played a tremendous part in making our garden so beautiful this year.
First of all, Mackenzie!! WOW. Her artistic skill in bringing life back to our worn out, weathered fairy garden fairies and pieces has been exceptional. The pictures show a a few of her before and afters.
Once Mackenzie got involved, we were so fortunate to have Ruby reach out. She is home for the summer after finishing her first year of university and has been part of our garden since she was eight years old. She is such a kind, gentle young woman, and she asked if she could lend a hand while she was home.
She helped with a bunch of things, but blew me away with this: we have a plum tree in the garden. If you scroll to the last couple of photos, you’ll see the photo Ruby took, followed by her beautiful painting of it.
Two truly amazingly creative young people.
Ruby and Mackenzie met and also really connected, even better 🙂.
I just wanted to share this because I believe young people should be recognized for their talents. It doesn’t always have to be sports or academics (although both are exceptional smart and athletic too). These two are inspiring and have truly made a difference. Now that they are heading back to school, I want to say a huge thank you to them both.
07/19/2026
I made this video on a rainy Saturday evening to give you a tour of the garden. I hope you enjoy walking through it with me.
07/18/2026
A sincere thank you once again to Elite Tree Services for delivering another load of beautiful wood chips to our community garden.
I highly recommend Derek and his crew for any tree work you need. They are professional, reliable, and, above all, genuinely good people who care about supporting their community.
When we choose to support local businesses, the benefits ripple outward. Their generosity helps make projects like our community garden possible, and we’re incredibly grateful for their continued support.
06/25/2026
Today was another incredible reminder that many hands truly do make light work.
A heartfelt thank you to for once again sponsoring our community garden and for sending a fantastic team of volunteers to spend their morning with us. Despite their busy schedules, they arrived at 8:00 a.m. ready to work, and together we accomplished so much.
With their help, we planted our potato crop, which we hope will produce a generous harvest to donate to our local food bank later this season.
We also continued developing one of our newest initiatives, demonstrating how anyone can grow fresh food in small spaces. Together, we prepared our steel water trough gardens, creating attractive, productive growing spaces that are perfect for renters or anyone with limited yard space. These “mobile gardens” can move with you, making food gardening accessible no matter where you live. We’ll be adding educational signs throughout the garden to share these ideas with our community.
Bimbo Canada’s generosity didn’t stop there. Their support also provided the beautiful organic mushroom compost that helps our vegetables thrive, while contributing to the Deep Roots Food Hub so they can continue building and growing their own community garden.
Community partnerships like this create opportunities that extend far beyond a single day. They help us grow food, educate others, strengthen food security, and inspire more people to discover the joy of growing their own fresh produce.
Thank you, Bimbo Canada, for believing in our vision and for investing in our community once again. We are truly grateful for your continued partnership and support.
06/05/2026
Posting for Mr. Khan who is having his plant tomorrow June 6th from 9am - 6pm at 2 Bell Park Street, Stittsville
He is a very good gardener and has beautiful plants.
Plants are healthy, strong, long enough and ready to transfer in ground or bigger pot
1- Hot Peppers
A- Ring of Fire: 6-8” Plants in 3.5” and 5” Pots
B- Cayenne Hot Chilli - Plants in 3.5”
C- Piment Super Chilli-Plants in 5”
2- Sweet Banana Pepper- Plants in 3.5”
3- Eggplant Purple Long-6-8” Plants in 5” Pot
4- Sweet 100-Red Cherry Tomato-Plants 6”-8” tall in 3.5 “Pot
5- Beefsteak Tomato Plants - 5-6” tall in 3.5“ Pot
6- Roma Tomato Plants - 5”-6” tall in 3.5“ Pot
7- Early Grill Tomato Plants - 5”-6” tall in 3.5“ Pot
8- Better Boy Tomato Plants - 5”-6” tall in 3.5“ Pot
9- Red Cabbage-4-5” tall Plants in 3.5 “Pot
10-Broccoli Green-4-5” tall Plants in 3.5 “Pot
11-Broccoli Purple-4-5” tall Plants in 3.5 “Pot
12-Cauliflower 4-5” tall Plants in 3.5 “Pot
05/10/2026
Happy Mother’s Day!
A little cool, but nice to get outside and get your garden ready. Here’s one of our gardeners, Carole, with her daughter and granddaughters. Such a nice sight to see them are all working together and enjoying their day.
05/09/2026
Officially open today!
05/03/2026
🌿 Looking for a reliable local tree service? I highly recommend Elite Tree Services.
We’d like to thank them for their continued generosity to our community garden. They recently delivered another load of beautiful wood chips completely free of charge, helping us get set up for the season, (even if spring is taking its time this year)!🙈
🌱 Wood chips do so much for a garden. As they break down, they add organic matter to the soil, improve soil health, help retain moisture, and keep the weeds down. If you are visiting sometime, pull back a layer you’ll discover rich, healthy soil teeming with worms.
We use them around our beds and pathways to keep everything neat and tidy and looking its best.
Derek recently took the step of becoming the full owner of the company. As both a person and a business owner, he is kind, genuine, and hardworking. Supporting local entrepreneurs like him is more important than ever, and we’re grateful for all he does for our community.
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