Garden Plot Selection 2024

Request a community garden plot for the 2024 growing season by completing the online Garden Plot Application by Monday, March 18.

CTC has 45 garden plots between five locations that residents can reserve to grow their own vegetables and flowers. To request a plot, residents will complete the online Garden Plot Application due Monday, March 18, 2024, which will be submitted into a drawing for random selection. ONLY (1) plot per household during this time. CTC will contact the selected gardeners beginning March 21, 2024, placing the remaining applications (if any) on a waitlist.

Garden Usage Requirements

Compost and mulch will be delivered early May (weather accordingly) and all gardeners will prep their own plots with provided materials within a 1-2 week deadline (announced with compost/mulch delivery date). A Compost/Mulch Delivery Map will be provided to gardeners of where to get compost and mulch locations. Wheelbarrows and shovels will be available in each garden area for gardener use during that time.

Plot recipients are required to pay a seasonal-usage fee of $60.00 per plot and take part in the spring preparation, site upkeep through the season, and clearing out their plot at the end of the season. Additionally, plot recipients are subject to a $25.00 cleaning fee if not completed at end of the season. End of year inspections will be done by the Garden Plot Coordinator. You will sign an agreement form after selection process to charge your resident account, agreeing to the Garden Plot/Site Rules and Regulations.

Plan Ahead

Take time before completing your application to check out the five garden plot areas to see where you would like to be for the season. Be sure to have a first through fifth choice of garden plot locations. Remember to think about the following factors when choosing: what you will be planting, amount of sunlight/shade, water access.

View the map of garden plot locations and garden plot sizes.*

CTC Gardeners, Unite!

Interested in improving the selection process, getting the same plot year after year, or giving you input to prepping plots? Join a garden plot group or contact our Garden Plot Coordinator to see how you can help.

Looking for Garden Site Coordinators

This year, we are requesting a Garden Site Coordinator for each site. After the selection, we will contact those interested, as indicated in your application!

Selection Process Overview

March 18	Online applications due
March 19-21	Random drawing to determine the selected gardeners
March 21-27	Email selected gardeners with plot # and 'acknowledgment form' to sign
March 27	Signed 'acknowledgment form' due for selected gardeners
March 27 and on	Contact waiting list if any plot openings Appoint Garden Site Coordinators
TBD (est. May 3-4	Compost/Mulch Delivery from UMN Landcare
TBD (est. May 3-7)	Selected gardeners must prep plots with provided compost/mulch
May 30	Garden Plot and Site Check-in: Plots that are untended or unweeded by the planting deadline are assumed abandoned and will be forfeited without a refund. This can apply to the entire garden plot site, if applicable.
October 15	End of season clean-up deadline for selected gardeners (see below)

Please let us know if you have any questions, and happy gardening!

Garden Plot and Site Prep

Compost/Mulch Delivery: Date to be Determined

Compost and mulch will be delivered and all gardeners will prep their own plots with provided materials within a 1-2 week deadline (announced with compost/mulch delivery date). A Compost/Mulch Delivery Map will be provided to gardeners of where to get compost and mulch locations. Wheelbarrows and shovels will be available in each garden area for gardener use during that time.

Take part in the spring preparation of your individual garden plot, as well as the organized event for your garden site. You must tend (prep) your plot by May 30th. If the kind of plants you are growing must be planted later, weed your plot, and site, as needed before then. You are responsible for your plots and sits for the entire season. Keep it free of weeds and harvested through end of season.

Tend to plot and garden site by May 30: Plots that are untended or unweeded by the planting deadline are assumed abandoned and will be forfeited without a refund. This can apply to the entire garden plot site, if applicable.

Early Plot Renouncement (Mid-Season) and Clean-up:

Plot recipients may renounce – or voluntarily cease to keep or claim – their plot at any time by making written notice to CTC’s office (and completing the Garden Plot Termination Form) and by clearing the site of all debris and plant material. Yet, the responsibility for payment of fees, cleanup and other duties at the site will be the responsibility of the individual whose name is initially assigned to the plot. Once a gardener renounces their assigned plot mid-season, this cannot be undone, and the plot will be offered to a gardener on the waitlist.

In other words, you are still responsible for clearing the garden plot of all debris and plant material (otherwise subject to a $25.00 cleaning fee), as well as responsible for the usage fee ($60.00) that you agreed to per the Garden Plot Agreement form. Renouncing your plot mid-season is irreversible, in which once you provide an official end-date via the termination form, the decision and date are unalterable.

To complete the Garden Plot Termination Form, you will need:

To have completed the clearing requirements for your plot/site
A photo of your cleared plot
Your plot site and number
Your official End-Date
- Once you provide an end-date to renounce your plot, this date cannot be changed or undone, as the plot will be offered to a gardener on the waitlist.

CTC Garden Plot Clearing Requirements:

All gardens must be cleared and cleaned at the "End-of-Use" (renounced early/mid-season) and/or "End-of-Season" (at the end of the growing season) per the provided cleaning practices and deadline. If a garden is abandoned during the year, or the gardener fails to clean up their garden in the fall, they will be assessed with a cleaning fee.

Clear Plot + Site Common Areas: Each gardener is responsible for the proper removal of weeds and crop remnants from the individual plot and the paths around the individual plot.
- All the yields should be harvested, and all the plant remnants should be removed from the plots since they might provide beneficial conditions for overwintering of plant pathogens.
- Clear weeds and debris from individual plot, mulched paths around your plot, and garden site common areas.
Compost Bins: Weed and plant remnants should be placed in the compost bins located at the garden sites. U of M Landcare will be the clearing the bins out.
1. If the compost bin is full/overflowing, please place next to bin.
2. Note: Compost bins are only reopened for weeds, NOT household organics or food scraps.

Organize CTC Garden Tools: Place all CTC-owned garden tools near the compost bin at your garden site.
Remove all your personal belongings (tools, pots, toys, etc.) and any temporary garden items/tools from the plot/site.

End-of-Season Clean-up + Renouncement

1) Clear Plots by First Frost

All purchased garden plots need to be cleared at the end of the season before first frost by the respective garden plot holder. Frost is predicted when air temperatures reach 32°F (0°C) - typically in October - yet can occur sooner or unexpectedly. As fall/frost approaches, CTC will provide gardeners with more details and a specific deadline to clear out garden plots, corresponding to the predicted first frost date. Predicted frost dates are only an estimate based on the local weather forecast and historical probability, however, and are subject to change. Thus, gardeners may need to clear their plots before CTC's deadline/notice if frost occurs sooner than anticipated; please keep an eye on the local weather forecast and plan accordingly.

Plot Clearing Deadline:

All garden plots must be cleared by first frost. Full directions and details will be emailed to all garden plot holders once closer to the season-end.

ESTIMATING FIRST FROST

View Final Spring/First Fall Freeze & Frost Date Probabilities (UMN St. Paul Campus)

The freeze date table above utilizes "past temperature observations to calculate the historical probability of freezing temperatures occurring after (spring) or before (fall) certain dates" for CTC's location.
- For example: Viewing the "Fall Freeze Dates" table, along the "32" degrees row, and under the ".70" probability column, it reads"10/15". This means that for CTC's location, there is a 70% chance of the temperature falling to 32 degrees F or colder after October 15.
For more information, visit the Minnesota DNR website.

2) Help Clean Common Mulch Areas

Additionally, we need all gardeners to assist in cleaning the common mulch areas, helping to avoid raising prices and using spray/pesticide in the garden plot areas. Please remove all weeds and personal items (plant pots, privately-owned garden tools, etc.) from the mulched paths around each individual plot and other common areas for each garden plot site (A, B, C, E, and F).