What are community gardens?
A community garden is land owned and set aside by a public or private entity for persons to use for a season to garden vegetables, fruits and/or flowers. Community gardens have their own rules and use is often limited to local residents. The entity that owns the land may provide services such as water, fencing, compost and tilling.
There are different ways to get information about the gardens such as how to apply to use the garden, if there are fees, and the overall rules for the garden since they are independently owned and operated. The information provided here was gathered in 2022 to assist persons to find a place to garden nearby where they live.
Community gardens vary in many ways. The oldest community garden has been offered through Lawrence Township for over 50 years. The two largest gardens are offered through Lawrence and Ewing Townships each having over 110 plots. Fees vary from zero to $50 each growing season. Some gardens designate a few lots that volunteers tend for the purpose of giving the food away to local food pantries. The table below outlines key information about existing gardens in 2022.
Almost all gardens give preference to returning gardeners. Thus, there may be few open plots each year and wait lists.
The photos shown here show two views of the Ewing Community Gardens, one of West Windsor (with the blue bucket) and one of the many Isles gardens, courtesy of Isles.
In addition to the public and private sites noted here, there are private developments and schools that create plots. Their use is usually restricted to the residents of the development or the students, teachers and perhaps the student families. These more private sites are not included in the list.
Table_81_August_11_22