Portland community gardens

Growing Food Together In Our City

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Garden Guidelines

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Garden FAQ

Find answers to your garden questions.

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Photo by Greta Rybus

Cultivating Community partners with the City of Portland to manage 11 Community Gardens.

Our Community Gardens program provides opportunities for people to grow healthy, local food within Portland’s city limits. Our program also supports growing spaces at affordable housing locations and we collaborate with community members to maintain several urban food forests. We strive for a community where everyone has access to grow and harvest food for themselves and their families.

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Costs & Resources

Garden plots cost $45 each year for a single plot (4×15′ or smaller) or $65 for a double plot (10×15′ or larger). For gardeners who are living on a low income, all plots cost $15 each year. Included with your plot:

  • Access to a shed with garden tools available for your use.
  • Limited quantities of compost and wood chips.
  • Water provided during the growing season.
  • Donated seeds and seedlings as available.
  • Garden work days, workshops, and other opportunities to get to know your fellow gardeners.
View Garden FAQ
Photo by Greta Rybus

Thank you to our Community Garden Sponsors & Supporters

The gardens rely on a community of support to sustain them. Our sponsors are a crucial part of increasing local community food security, well-being, and resilience. If you live or work in Portland you live less than five minutes from a garden! Learn more about our sponsors and join us!

Sponsor a garden

BRENTWOOD FARMS COMMUNITY GARDEN

Full Plots: 68
Communal Plots: 20

Started in 2010 by committed community members, Brentwood abuts Evergreen Cemetery and has beautiful walking trails going into the woods. Gardeners have planted blueberries, raspberries, fruit trees, and many other perennials surrounding the garden.

BOYD STREET COMMUNITY GARDEN

Full Plots: 30
Youth Garden

Boyd St Community Garden was built in 2009 in partnership between Kennedy Park and Cultivating Community. This garden also includes an orchard of 30 fruit trees, raspberry and blackberry bushes, honey bees, and a youth garden that’s cared for by high school students.

CASCO BAY COMMUNITY GARDEN

Full Plots: 31
Half Plots: 36

Casco Bay Community Garden, which overlooks Casco Bay, was built in 2015 through a series of volunteer workdays. The garden was constructed using a permaculture technique called “lasagna layering,” which includes materials like granite dust, manure, seaweed, and leaf matter.

CLARK STREET COMMUNITY GARDEN

Full Plots: 7
Half Plots: 0

Clark Street Community Garden is located in the historic West End neighborhood. This small garden was built in 1998.

COMMON SHARE COMMUNITY GARDEN

Gardeners manage the garden together.

Located on the Eastern Promenade, this garden was finished in the fall of 2016. This space presents a model of community gardening in which gardeners share the space instead of tending individual plots. Common Share gardeners plant and manage the space together, splitting the harvest with everyone.

LIBBYTOWN COMMUNITY GARDEN

Full Plots: 0
Half Plots: 47

Libbytown Community garden was built in the fall of 2016. The garden was constructed through a partnership between the Libbytown Neighborhood Association, the City of Portland, Cultivating Community, and the Resilience Hub. The garden was constructed using a permaculture technique called “lasagna layering.”

NORTH STREET COMMUNITY GARDEN

Full Plots: 51
Half Plots: 2

North Street was built in 1998, located across the street from the East End Elementary School. On clear days, gardeners have spectacular views of Back Cove and Mount Washington. Mount Joy Orchard surrounds the gardens with over 60 heirloom fruit trees, which are cared for by students and volunteers.

PAYSON PARK COMMUNITY GARDEN

Full Plots: 37
Half Plots: 0

Built in 2000, Payson Park is located off Baxter Boulevard. Also located in Payson Park are open fields for various activities, a softball diamond, sledding hills, and more. You can also access Back Cove trail from Payson Park.

PEAKS ISLAND COMMUNITY GARDEN

Full Plots: 20
Half Plots: 0

Peaks Island Community Garden began in 2008 when island residents came together to create a space for growing food and community. The garden is located in Trott-Little John Park and has an area that is wheelchair accessible.

RIVERTON COMMUNITY GARDEN

Full Plots: 29
School Garden Plots: 4

Riverton Community Garden was started in 2009 by neighbors looking to build community around growing food. Riverton Elementary School students share space in the garden for weekly classes. Students and volunteers have planted several fruit trees for shared harvest.

VALLEY STREET COMMUNITY GARDEN

Full Plots: 42
Half Plots: 6

Built in 1995, Valley Street is the oldest community garden in Portland. The garden is located downhill from the Western Promenade and is adjacent to the Valley Street Dog Park.

Want to learn more?

Email
garden@cultivatingcommunity.org
Phone
207-761-4769
Address
58 Boyd St, Portland, ME 04101

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that here in Maine we are on Indigenous land, the territory of the Penobscot, Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Abenaki nations. We are grateful for their continued stewardship. We are mindful of how this impacts our work with community agriculture.

Header and footer photos by Greta Rybus