Community Gardens at Cornell

We Invite you to garden with us!

Contact us at communitygardens@cornell.edu to join our mailing list

Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1996044193800612/

Cornell students please join as a member of CampusGroups: https://cornell.campusgroups.com/CommGardens/club_signup

About Us

We rent garden plots that include field preparation, compost, cover crops, and water.  Plots are available to Cornell students, members of the Cornell community, and area residents.

We furnish surplus vegetables we grow to the Food Donation Network.

We encourage Cornell scientists and researchers to visit and engage with us, as citizen scientists, to advance research.

General Information

  • Prospective gardeners can reach out at any time to be added to our mailing list. The mailing list is used to communicate important dates and direct people to reserve plots
  • There will be an optional meeting for club members and officers in the early spring
  • All of our members must complete a "Best Gardening Practices" gardening class provided by Cornell Cooperative Extension. We provide recordings of the session available for people who can't make it in person. We will record an attestation that each gardener reviewed the material
  • Gardening can begin after the fields are plowed and plots are marked. Usually early-mid May, although very wet weather can delay our access to the gardens.
  • Staking to mark the plots will be sometime in late April or early May. Volunteers are needed!
  • Some Gardeners Fence their plots and some don't.  It is a personal preference.  Deer are not a major problem but there are some smaller critters that may want to share the harvest.
  • Gardens must be cleared October 2, 2021 with a final volunteer cleanup on October 2 or October 3 immediately followed by a volunteer clean-up effort so that the the fields can be prepared for the next season.
  • Fields are plowed each fall and disked each spring by Cornell Farm Services. We rotate gardening between the north and the south fields every two years. The 2021 season is our second season in the south field. The other field is cover cropped with winter rye in the fall, inter-seeded with clover in the spring and mowed in the late summer of the first fallow year. The clover remains as cover for year two and is incorporated back into the soil at the end of year two.
  • Full Details of our license agreement with Cornell including expectations, rules and operating procedures: 2020-2021 Cornell Community Gardens License.

COVID-19 Statement

All gardeners must comply with all orders, directives, and health and safety guidelines issued by New York State, and all orders, directives and health and safety guidelines issued by the federal government (including the Center for Disease Control and Prevention) and Cornell University relating to COVID-19.

Do not visit the garden if you are feeling ill or have reason to believe you may have been exposed to COVID-19. Masks should be worn whenever you cannot maintain six feet of distance from other gardeners.  Follow proper hygiene procedures when using any shared equipment, including water valves.

Reservation Instructions

Complete the online form located here to register for a plot (there is a plot map below and in the online registration showing available plots). Plots are 20' X 25' and cost $30 per season. Registration Form here:

Reservations for the 2022 Season will open in late winter

If you have any problems completing the form online, please contact communitygardens@cornell.edu

Then pay for your plot(s) using paypal (be sure to add the number of plots you are reserving)

PayPal Link:

OR

Send a check ($30 per plot) to
Community Gardens at Cornell
PO Box 4062
Ithaca, NY 14852-4062

Plot Map Showing Reservations

The Gardens are located on Freese Road in Dryden Approximately 2 miles from the Cornell Campus

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all of a gardener-volunteers who help us mark plots in the spring, clean up in the fall and report water leaks or other concerns. Special thanks to those who manage the extensive water distribution infrastructure, navigate our relationship with Cornell, handle finances and communications, and coordinate deliveries to the Food Donation Network. The Cornell Campus Activities Office coordinates all Cornell-associated Clubs and the Cornell real estate department provides support for our license to use the land. Cornell Farm Services provides all of the plowing, mowing, compost delivery and cover crop services. Our water access is provided by Bolton Point via metered access to a nearby hydrant. The Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) has worked with us extensively to work out appropriate rules and expectations for our activities as stewards of the land.

I'm new! How can I get help?

I'm experienced but have a question or concern!

Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) provides tremendous amounts of information for beginner and experienced gardeners:

http://ccetompkins.org/gardening

https://www.facebook.com/ccetompkins/

You can find planting and frost information, information on pest and disease control, access to the "Growline" where you can ask for advice and links to excellent reference material.

CCE Tompkins also organizes the annual http://ccetompkins.org/gardening/garden-events/spring-garden-fair-plant-sale

Another Cornell club, Hortus Forum also organizes a plant sale in the spring. Their facebook page has the details: https://www.facebook.com/hortusforum/

Contact Us

Questions? Contact us at: communitygardens@cornell.edu

Join our:

Announcement List: community_gardens_announce-l@cornell.edu

Discussion List: community_gardens_discuss-l@cornell.edu

Facebook Group: facebook group

To join the lists, send an email message FROM the email address where you want to receive messages posted to the e-list.

Send the message to:

listname-request@cornell.edu

For the Subject of the message, enter the single word:

join

Leave the body of the message blank.

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