Manhattan Community Gardens
The Manhattan Community Gardens are a cooperative gardening project located in the south part of Manhattan, Kansas. Land is provided by the City of Manhattan and by Riley County. UFM Community Learning Center supervises the project. Garden sites are located in southern Manhattan at 9th and Riley Lane and at 1435 Collins Lane. A small plot rental fee is charged to cover costs of operating the program. Signups occur November to March each year or until all plots are rented.
Announcements
Plot signup dates for 2019
Returning Gardeners:
Nov. 3, 2018 – 10:00 – 11:30 am at Collins Lane before Annual Meeting
Dec. 5, 2018 – 6:30 pm at UFM, 1221 Thurston St.
Jan. 14, 2019 – 5:30 pm at UFM, 1221 Thurston St.
New Gardener Signups:
Feb. 2, 2019 – 9:30 am at UFM, 1221 Thurston St.
Feb. 26, 2019 – 5:30 PM at UFM, 1221 Thurston St.
Mar. 18, 2019 – 5:30 pm at UFM, 1221 Thurston St.
April 13, 2019 – 9:30 am at UFM, 1221 Thurston St.
Volunteer Opportunities
Two volunteer activities for the good of the gardens are required by each gardening family.
Work Days & Socials
Below are the work days for 2018.
Socials are marked with an *
March 10
April 7 *
April 15
May 5
May 20
June 9 *
July 7
August 4
September 8 *
September 16
October 6 *
October 16
November 3 and Annual Meeting
Mowing
Riley Lane
March – Oct
Collins Lane — Push Mower
March – October
Collins Lane — Riding Mower
March – October
Other Opportunities
Equipment Committee
Tilling Committee
Flower Bed Maintenance
Registration Aide
Emergency Garden Assistance
Other Approved Service
Quicklinks & Downloads
Plot Rentals
Prices vary by plot on Riley Lane. Fees on Collins Lane are $50 per plot at full pay and $25 for low income gardeners. For more information on plot rental pricing and reduced fee guidelines, see the links below. If you have any questions please contact us at UFM.
History
The Manhattan Community Garden began in 1974 with a mini grant from ACTION, coordinated by UFM. The land was purchased by Urban Renewal and was 150 ft from the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. This space was zoned as green space for the next 20 years.
The City and many volunteers cleared the old houses and trees from the site. A local nursery provided a tractor and fertilizer to turn the soil and the City agreed to install water meters and spigots at the site. The City agreed to donate water and a local bank donated seeds for the first year. During that first year, they had 60 plots planted.
A shed was donated by a developmental center and a small grant from Social Rehabilitation Services assisted during the first years. Later, in 2004, a new shed was donated by D&R Construction.
The lease on the two acres of gardening space is held by UFM Community Learning Center and renewed by the City of Manhattan every five years. A new site, Collins Lane, was added in 2012, is leased from Riley County and is open to anyone in the county.
The Manhattan Community Garden is grateful to the Riley County Commission for providing the land, to Howie’s Trash and Recycling Services for providing labor and financial resources to help develop the new site and to the City of Manhattan Parks department for helping develop the second acre at Collins Lane for gardening in 2013.
Currently, the Riley Lane Garden has 104 plots and Collins Lane has 156 plots. A plot renewal is charged on a sliding scale to cover garden expenses.