The Golden Gourd Awards
Celebrating excellence in community gardening!
The 3rd Annual Golden Gourd Awards
Community gardening is hard work and DEUFFC wants to recognize you and your garden’s accomplishments by hosting an awards potluck for you, friends, families, and fellow community gardeners.
Event Information and Registration
Date: Saturday, September 30th, 2023 (rain or shine)
Time: 11:00am-2:00pm
Location: Bright Spot Farms (Herman Holloway Campus at 1901 N Dupont Hwy, New Castle, DE)
Details: Between now and August 31st, community gardens/ers will be able to submit nominations for any of our awards categories (see details below) that recognize the successes and challenges of community gardening.
On September 30th, we invite everyone to bring a chair and a potluck dish (with recipe/ingredient list) to share for our afternoon awards ceremony at Bright Spot Farms. Here you will be able to tour the site, vote on submissions, and mingle with other gardeners before we cap off the festivities with the presentation of our iconic golden gourd trophies. If you would like to attend but are not submitting a nomination you can REGISTER HERE.
How to Submit Nominations
This contest is open to any community garden or community gardener in New Castle County, Delaware. There is no limit to the number of submissions for each garden/gardener, but each nomination must be submitted individually. Self nominations are also allowed.
-Click here to go to the Nomination Submission Form-
Please review the specific submission criteria for each category before submitting (see below). Some submissions require photos
For categories that require photos as part of the submission: You will need to send submit the photos separately from the nomination form. These photos should be sent to deuffc@gmail.com and files should be labeled with the nominees name and award category. Anyone who wishes to submit photos for a category that does not require them is also welcome to do so. We never say no to garden photos!
Award Categories
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Eat Your Garden
Nothing tastes better than fresh fruits and veggies from your own garden! For this category, individuals who wish to be considered are invited to bring a vegetable forward dish to the potluck award ceremony. The winner will be the person who brings the dish with the greatest number of fruit/vegetables/herbs incorporated grown in their own garden. Should two or more entries contain the same number of fruit/vegetables/herbs the tie will be broken by determining which dish is the most colorful.
Submission Requirements: Potluck dish brought to the awards ceremony and an ingredient list indicating which ones were grown by the individual.
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Garden Hero
Know someone who’s worked tirelessly and been instrumental to the success of a community garden? Give them some love and nominate them as a Garden Hero!
Submission Requirements: Nominee’s Name, email, and a brief description of why you think this person is a Garden Hero (up to 1,000 characters)
2021 Winner- Cecelia Rich, The Village Tree
2022 Winner - Robin Billy, The ORCHARD
2023 Winner- Rob Pfeiffer- 7th and West Community Garden
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Rookie of the Year
Nominate a garden noobie who’s done an outstanding job their first year in the garden.
Submission Requirements: Nominee’s Name, email, and a brief description of why you think this person is an excellent first time gardener (up to 1,000 characters)
2022 Winner: Katelynn Scott, The NEST
2023 Winner: Jason Aviles, Wilmington Green Box Garden
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Garden Sprout
It’s never to early to learn about gardening and we want to encourage our youngest community gardeners with our Garden Sprout award.
Submission Requirements: Nominee’s Name, parent/guardian’s email, and nominee’s age.
2021 Winner- Tiani Lucas-Davis, Rose Hill Community Center Garden
2022 Winner: Langston Armstrong, Llangollen Giving Garden
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Well Seasoned Gardener
We all know that our gardens wouldn't get very far without those individuals who have years of experience to share with us. This category is for the oldest community gardener.
Submission Requirements: Nominee’s Name and age.
2022 Winner: Mark Oliver, Resurrection Parish Community Garden
2023 Winner: Dave Brown, St Mark's UMC Garden Project
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Most Unusual Crop
Growing a crop or crop variety not commonly found in the garden? We want to see it!
Submission Requirements: Nominee’s Name, email, crop/variety name, and 1-2 pictures.
2021 Winner- Rob Turnball, The LCGS Shepherd's Garden and Meadow
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Ugliest Tomato
Because sometimes, stuff just happens. This is a category to recognize that sometime things just don't go according to plan.
Submission Requirements: Nominee’s Name, email, and 1-2 pictures of the tomato.
2021 Winner - Amie Figarol, Rodney Reservoir Garden
2022 Winner: Virgina Kameitzer, Resurrection Parish Community Garden
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Biggest Squash
Giant squash aren’t good to eat but now they can at least be good for winning awards.
Submission Requirements: Nominee’s Name, email, the squash measurements (length, circumference, or weight), and 1-2 pictures.
2021 Winner - Linda Malm, Resurrection Parish Garden
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Most Produce Donated
For many gardens, produce donations are a way to broaden their impact on our local community.
Submission Requirements: Nominee’s Name, email, and the total quantity donated (in lbs.) by your garden this year.
2021 Winner - The LCGS Shepherd's Garden and Meadow
2022 Winner: Jess Wescott, Planting to Feed, Inc
2023 Winner: Jess Wescott, Planting to Feed, Inc
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Largest Volunteer Day
Getting people involved through organized volunteer events is a great way to tackle projects and build community.
Submission Requirements: Nominee’s Name, email, and the number of volunteers at your largest event.
2021 Winner - Urban Promise Academy School Garden
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Prettiest Pollinator Space
We want to recognize those who’ve created a beautiful, diverse, and welcoming space for our pollinating friends. Individuals or community gardens as a whole may be nominated.
Submission Requirements: Nominee’s Name, email, a brief description of the pollinator space (up to 1,000 characters), and 1-2 pictures of the space
2022 Winner: Valerie Macneir, Bellevue Farms
2023 Winner: Jere Barber, Bellevue Farms
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Most Creative Use of Space
Community gardening is all about thinking outside the box and making the most out of any space. Individuals or community gardens as a whole may be nominated.
Submission Requirements: Nominee’s Name, email, a brief description of how space has been creatively used (up to 1,000 characters), and 1-2 pictures of the space
2021 Winner - Bellevue Farms
2022 Winner: Odyssey Charter School
2023 Winner: The Terry Center
2023 Golden Gourd Awards
The gallery below contain pictures from our 3rd Annual Golden Gourd Awards held in 2023 at Bright Spot Farms. Congratulations to all our nominees and winners. Due to several scheduling conflicts with our winners, more photos will be added as folks received their awards.
2022 Golden Gourd Awards
The gallery below contain pictures from our 2nd Annual Golden Gourd Awards held in 2022 at Bright Spot Farms. Congratulations to all our nominees and winners.
2021 Golden Gourd Awards
The gallery below show highlights from our 1st Annual Golden Gourd Awards held in 2021. Congratulations to all our winners!
