Community Gardens
Photo by Erika Peterman
Garden City Harvest's community gardens are places where anyone can rent a garden plot on a sliding scale to grow food for themselves, friends, and families year after year. Each of our garden sites provide participants with a garden plot, tools, water, manure, straw, compost, and educational resources. With a little bit of patience and a lot of persistence, gardening means self-sufficiency, pride, and the taste of a homegrown tomato.
Apply now for 2024! Applications are due by March 25 for the 2024 spring plot lottery. You can still apply after this date, but you’ll have a higher chance of being placed on the waiting list.
plot fees
Each year garden plots require a $25 deposit in addition to a plot fee. The plot fee is based on a sliding scale with fees between $40 - $70 a season. The deposit can be refunded at the end of the year if the plot has been maintained throughout the season and winterized by Closing Day. We offer payment plan and scholarship options to help cover plot fees.
Sliding Scale
Households in column A: $65 per year ($40 plot fee plus $25 deposit)
Households in column B: $80 per year ($55 plot fee plus $25 deposit)
Households in column C: $95 per year ($70 plot fee plus $25 deposit)
Some garden sites have “half plots,” which cost $10 less than the full plot fees listed above.
Payment Plan
If you are not able to pay your plot fee at the time you sign your contract, you will be automatically enrolled in a payment plan. You will be sent monthly invoices and will have until July 31 to pay off your plot fee.
Scholarships
In addition to the sliding scale and payment plan options, we offer scholarships to cover plot fees. After you are offered a plot, you will have the option to apply for a scholarship on the gardening contract. Feel free to reach out with any questions!
volunteer
We are always looking for some extra helping hands! Learn more about Garden City Harvest’s volunteer opportunities with the button below.
If you are a community gardener, join the leadership committee and we’ll cover your plot fee! Click the button below to learn more. We are currently looking for more volunteers at 2nd Street, Roots off Reserve, and Northside Community Gardens.
Thank you to our Community Gardens partner, Planetary Design, for investing in this work.
Gardening Resources
Interested in learning more about gardening? Come to one of our workshops or visit our blog - The Real Dirt.
More Questions?
Hope grows in my garden.
Hope grows in my little garden plot, and with it comes healing. Each day that we come to tend our gardens, we leave changed. The strengths we glean from the creative act of gardening and tending the earth and each other naturally spreads beyond the fences of our community garden plots, and the Missoula community is made richer because of it. - Brigid, community gardener
Garden City Harvest is building a new community garden in East Missoula and we’re breaking ground spring 2023! Read more for project updates and how to get involved.