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.
Signing Up For a Garden Plot
Returning Gardener Signups (Fall 2021/Winter 2022):
** MASKS WELCOME AT SIGNUPS **
* November 7th (Sunday) Annual Meeting and Returning gardener signup at 3:30 pm (Location TBA)
* December 1st (Wednesday) from 6:30 – 7:30 pm at UFM Solar Addition
* January 10th (Monday) from 5:30 – 6:30 pm at UFM Solar Addition
New Gardener and Returning Gardeners adding plots:
** MASKS WELCOME AT SIGNUPS **
* February 5th (Saturday) from 9:30 – 10:30 am at UFM Solar Addition
* February 23rd (Wednesday) from 5:30 – 6:30 pm at UFM Solar Addition
* March 7th (Monday) from 5:30 – 6:30 pm at UFM Solar Addition
–> UFM is located at 1221 Thurston St in Manhattan. Parking lot in the alley between Kearney and Thurston
Preparing Your Garden Plot for Tilling
How to Properly Use a Tiller
Please see this YouTube video for information on how to properly use a tiller: https://youtu.be/gz0RJQ6vF-4
Looking for Urban Gardening?
Learn more about the GRO Gardening Initiative aimed at reducing barriers for urban gardeners.
Volunteer Opportunities
One volunteer activity for the good of the gardens are required by each gardening family.
Work Days & Socials
VOLUNTEER OPTIONS
(one required)
Most options will be performing a task on any day during your signup month. There will be a limit of 5 gardeners/month for each garden.
• March 6 – group activity putting out garden hoses
• April – assigned task
• May – assigned task
• June – assigned task
• July – assigned task
• August – assigned task
• September – assigned task
• October – assigned task
• November 6 – group activity putting away hoses and cleaning sheds
• Mowing committee
• Tilling committee
• Equipment committee
Mowing
Riley Lane
May – Oct
Collins Lane — Push Mower
May – October
Collins Lane — Riding Mower
May – October
Other Opportunities
Equipment Committee
Tilling Committee
Other Approved Service
Quicklinks & Downloads
- Garden Plot Rental Application
(no need to print; copies will be available at sign-ups)
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 to the left. If you have any questions, please email communitygarden@tryufm.org.
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 132 plots and Collins Lane has 152 plots. A plot renewal is charged on a sliding scale to cover garden expenses.