Plot Style Community
Gardening in Minnesota
A preparation guide for new
community gardeners
By Charlene Gruber and Kelsey Sparks
What is a Community Garden
“Any piece of land gardened by a group of
people.”
- American Community
Garden Association (ACGA)
“A community garden is any space where plants
are grown and maintained by a community to
meet the needs of the community.”
-Gardening Matters
Types of Community Gardens
Neighborhood community gardens
 Educational

– School gardens
– Job training
Gardens that support food banks or
shelters
 Demonstration gardens
 Therapeutic gardens

Finding a Community Garden

Minnesota organizations
– Gardening Matters
 http://www.gardeningmatters.org/
– Minnesota State Horticultural Society’s
Minnesota Green program
 http://www.northerngardener.org/mngreen.asp

National organization
– American Community Garden Association
 http://www.communitygarden.org/
Plot Style Community Gardening

Challenges
– Limited space
– Close proximity to neighbor plots
– Rules and guidelines
– Pest management
– Theft and vandalism
– Limited resources
– Site permanency
Plot Style Community Gardening

Benefits
– Neighborhood and community development
– Land access
– Crime prevention
– Cross-cultural connection
– Youth education
– Food production
– Health
Garden Rules and Courtesy

Do:
– Learn and follow rules and regulations at your
community garden
– Be courteous to neighbors
– Report neglected plots to the garden coordinator
– Maintain you plot

Avoid:
– Watering, harvesting, or cleaning neighbor plots
– Allowing your plants grow into neighbor plots
– Growing tall plants where they will shade neighbors
Tools


Some community gardens have tools to borrow or
storage space
Some common garden tools:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
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Trowel
Hand fork
Hoe
Hand pruner
Garden fork
Shovel
Gloves
Wheelbarrow (great to have as a group on site for onsite compost
bins)
Water can or hoses depending on your water source
Creating Community
Annual picnic
Share recipes
 Read newsletters and garden postings
 Host events for community members
 Send out press releases to the local newspapers
 Post articles in local town newsletters
 Get schools involved
– Art classes can design a sign
– Have a scarecrow contest and display at the garden
 Ask artists to display work
 Invite organizations to purchase plots
 Look for businesses and organizations willing to donate
supplies


Security in the Garden

Know your neighbors
– Ask questions
– Attend meetings
– Accompany visitors

Perimeter fences
– Deters animals
– May prevent intruders
– Vines can soften the look

Personal safety
– Garden during daylight hours
– Keep a cell phone nearby
– Garden in pairs
Soil Test

Ask to see a soil test or test your own plot
 Helps determine fertilizing needs
 Determine soil pH
 Ensure fertile soil for plants and avoid over fertilizing

Soil tests available at University of Minnesota Soil
Testing Laboratory
 Contact your local extension educator
 Call the University Soil Testing Laboratory
 (612) 625-3101
 Visit the Soil Testing Laboratory website
– http://soiltest.cfans.umn.edu

Lead testing can be requested
Soil Composition

Sand, silt, and clay
– Soil texture will affect watering
 Sand will require more watering that other soil
types
 Clay can be prone to over watering

Organic matter percentage
– Increases pore space in clay soils
– Holds moisture and nutrients in sandy soils
Fertilizing
Plant nutrition is essential for optimum yields
 Synthetic fertilizers

– These may not be allowed in your garden plot so
check the rules carefully

Organic fertilizers
– Examples: blood meal, fish emulsion, manures,
composts, cover crops, and green manure crops
– Fresh manure vs. composted manure
Water Management

Understand the watering system for your
garden
– Consider any rules for water use with the
system available

Some offer steady sources while some will
have supply tanks
Water tank at Cambridge Community Garden
Water Management
Mulch helps soil stay evenly moist
 Check garden rules before installing drip
irrigation or other systems
 Avoid overhead watering
 Water early in the day

– Leaves dry quick preventing disease
Selecting Varieties

Most vegetables varieties perform well;
– Avoid:
 Varieties restricted by organization
– Aggressive / invasive varieties
 grow into pathways, neighbor plots
 Tall plants that shade
– Try:
 Unusual varieties less common in stores
 Plants with special interest for children
Challenging Plants

Sweet corn
– Some require isolation to prevent cross pollination
 Affects flavor and kernels

– Example: shrunken supersweet (sh2) types should be 250 ft. from
other sweet corn types or field corn or planted at different times
– Isolation can be difficult without communication between neighbor
plots
Tall plants can shade neighbor plots
– Sunflowers
– Amarathus
– Corn
– Plants on support structures
Challenging Plants

Vine crops (watermelon, muskmelon, cucumbers, squash)
– Do not allow vines to grown into neighbor
plots or rows
– Consider using support structures when
allowed
 Beware of shading
– Look for compact “bush” types
Contain Yourself!

Consider compact plant varieties
– Bush varieties of cucumbers, muskmelon,
watermelon, and squash
– Determinate tomato plants
– Compact varieties of vegetables
Lycopersicon esculentum
‘Window Box Roma’
Solanum Melongena
Determinate tomato
Compact eggplant
'Fairy Tale'
Contain Yourself!

Materials designed to contain climbing or tall
varieties
– Fences and trellises
 Pole beans, cucumbers, or squash
– Use varieties with fruit under three pounds are best
– Netting
 Use between stakes, on walls, or with structures noted above
– Cages or Stakes
 Tomatoes
– Teepees
 Pole beans
 Cucumbers
Contain Yourself!
Large fruit may need support!
A French Charentais
melon 'Savor‘ on a fence
structure
Cucumis sativaus ‘Olympian’
Cucumber on a teepee
Contain Yourself!
Some
indeterminate
tomato plants
can become
very tall!
Annuals vs. Perennials

Annuals complete their lifecycle in one
year
– Most vegetables traditionally grown in
Minnesota gardens are annuals

Perennials live for more than two years
– Check rules for your community garden
– May be allowed when returning to same plot
– Utilize containers above or below ground for
aggressive mints, horseradish, etc.
Perennial Edibles

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Rhubarb
Horseradish
Raspberries
Strawberries
Blueberries
Many small fruits
Fruit trees
Some mints
Asparagus
Chives
Containing Perennials

Perennials
– Utilize containers
– Set containers in garden
– “Plant” container with drain holes
 Keeps roots contained
Planning
Know the best date to start each plant
 Consider the last average frost date in
your city as a guideline

Planning

Decide what you would like to grown
– Use an existing garden layout
– Create your own layout

Consider plant spacing recommendations
– Use the sample layouts to get started
– Modify as needed
Cool Season Vegetables
These can be seeded directly outside as
soon as the soil is workable
 *Dates are approximate for
Minneapolis/St. Paul

– Adjust for your location
Cool Season Vegetables

April 10*
– Radish
– Peas

April 15*
– Beets
– Carrots
– Lettuce (leaf)
– Spinach
– Turnip
– Onion sets
– Onion transplants
– Onion seeds
– Head lettuce
– Potatoes (Irish)
– Kohlrabi
– Kale
– Collards
– Endive
Cool Season Vegetables

Transplant outdoors April 15th*
– or when soil is workable

Start seed indoors March 1st
 Broccoli
 Brussels sprouts
 Cauliflower
 Lettuce (head)
 Early cabbage
Early May

May 1st
– Seed outdoors
 Swiss chard
 Cucumbers
 Parsnips

May 1st
– Transplant outdoors
 Late cabbage
– Start indoors April 15

May 10th
– Seed outdoors

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
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Pumpkins
Squash, summer
Squash, winter
Sweet corn
– Date may vary with
type
Warm Season Vegetables

May 15th
– Seed outdoors
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Beans (snap bush, Pole, Lima, dry shell)
Muskmelon
Rutabaga
Watermelon
May 15th
– Transplant outdoors
 Tomato (Seed indoors April 1)
 Celery (seed indoors Feb. 15)

June 1st
– Transplant outdoors
 Eggplant (start indoors March 15)
 Okra (start indoors March 15)
 Peppers (start indoors March 15)
Starting Seed Indoors

Commercial seed-starting mixes are
suggested
– Vermiculite and peat based
– Sterile
– Soil less
– Lightweight
– Free of weed seed
Starting Seed Indoors

Fill containers with soiless mix
– Moisten prior to filling or water after filling
Plant seed four times as deep as the seeds width
 Label trays
 Cover with thin layer of vermiculite

– Allows light
– Maintains moisture
Determine which varieties need light or dark
conditions to germinate
 Consider heat mats

Seedlings

Use fluorescent lights (cool white)
– Four inches above the seedlings
– Twelve to sixteen hours of light daily
“Harden off” plants from the garden center or
those you have seeded is recommended prior to
planting
 Bring plants outdoors for part of the day to
gradually adjust to wind and temperature
fluctuations for one-two weeks

Chemical Use in the
Community Garden
“A substance or mixture of substances intended to
prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate a pest, and a
substance or mixture of substances intended for
use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.”
Minnesota state law (18B.01 subd. 18)
Definition of Pesticide
Chemical Use in the
Community Garden

Pesticides include:
– Herbicides for weeds
– Insecticides for insects
– Fungicides for fungi
The label is the final authority on how you may
legally use any pesticide
 Read the label carefully and follow all directions
 Many community gardens do not allow
pesticides

– Check your garden rules and ask questions before
using any products
Weed Management

Weeds in the community garden
– Creates an undesirable appearance
– May develop seeds that blow into neighboring plots
– Compete with vegetables for space, water, and
nutrients
– Allowing weeds to overgrow may cause you to lose
your plot

Manage weeds in your garden plot so you can
be welcome back to the community garden the
following season
Weed Management

There are various options to manage weeds in
your garden plot
– Mulch
– Hand pulling or hoeing
 These methods may be prohibited in your
garden
– Synthetic herbicides
 Read label carefully if allowed in the garden
– Roto-tilling
Weed Management

Mulch
– Manages weeds
– Conserves moisture
– Moderates soil temperatures
– Blocks soil splash
– Adds organic matter
Weed Management

Synthetic Mulch
– Plastic sheets
 Effective for blocking weeds, but also block water when drip
irrigation is not used below
 Increases soil temperature for warm season crops
– Landscape fabric
 High cost for a vegetable garden setting
– Ground up tires
 Difficult to remove
These artificial materials do not break down readily
and may not be allowed in your plot garden
Weed Management: Organic Mulch

Organic mulches
– May be a good choice for a community
garden
– Some may need to be removed at the end of
the season
Weed Management: Organic Mulch

Wood chips and pine bark
– May require additional nitrogen since the woodchips
use nitrogen as they break down
– Avoid mixing into the soil at the end of the season

Clean straw
– Weed free straw avoids introducing weed seeds

Grass clippings
– 1-2 inches of dry clippings
– Avoid those from lawns treated with herbicides
Insect Pest

Insect pests can create a gardening challenge,
managing them can require some planning
under a community garden setting
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–
–
–
–
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Hand picking
Synthetic insecticides
Organic insecticides
Traps & barriers
Repellents
Beneficial insects
Insect Pests


Pesticides may be prohibited in your garden
Alternative management methods
– Remove weeds, debris, and spoiled fruit where insects may
harbor
– Monitor for insect holes in leaves and hand pick insects as you see
them
– Utilize barrier methods like floating row covers or Reemay
 Reemay polyester cloth allows 80% light and water in but insects out
 Secure Reemay or row covers over plants early in the season before
insects are active
 Secure with rock or soil to secure the edges so insects can’t slide in
 Varieties that require insect pollination will need to be uncovered at a
specific time
Insect Management
Beneficial insects and organisms can be
effective if planned wisely
 Discuss with coordinator and gardeners

– Beneficial insects may move to other plots
– If other gardeners use insecticides, the
beneficial insects may be affected

Consider beneficial insects species more
likely to stay in a small area
Disease Management

Cultural practices to manage disease
– Sanitation
– Water
 Avoid overhead
 Water early in the day
– Choose resistant plant varieties
– Crop rotation

Refer to University of Minnesota Extension
publications for details on your specific
crop
Harvest
Do not harvest neighbor plots without
permission
 Consider asking someone to harvest your
plot if you should be out of town
 Share your harvest

– Friends and neighbors
– Food banks
End of the Season
Note cleanup deadlines
 Remove plants and synthetic material
 Attend season end meetings and events

Put the “Community” in your
Community Garden!
Encourage each other to maintain your
plots is important to gain community
support
 Encourage individual involvement
 Local organization involvement

Plot Style Community
Gardening in Minnesota
A preparation guide for new
community gardeners
By Charlene Gruber and Kelsey Sparks
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