Gardening & Growing
Gardening & Growing
Planning a Garden
Land access
- To purchase or rent from an empty lot, locate empty lots and lot owners on hennepin county property map.
- Lease lots for a market garden or community garden from the City of Minneapolis through the Homegrown Minneapolis Garden Lease Program.
- Updated Community Garden Policy in designated urban agriculture areas in neighborhood parks, approved and in progress designated urban agriculture areas in neighborhood parks
- To grow on rental property, document a Land Use Agreement and ensure liability insurance through an insurance agent directly or the managing body.
- For private leases and non city leases, consider the American Community Gardening Association Sample Land Use Agreement.
Liability Insurance
- If you are gardening on your rental property, speak to your landlord about adjusting the insurance policy.
- Speak to an insurance agent for liability insurance to have insurance cover any gardening activities, homeowner policy adjustments or business allowances, farmstand activities, tax liability, tax filing (such as self employed schedule F), processing produce liability.
- Speak to Neighborhood Associations or Council about the possibility of being included in their policy.
- For Minneapolis Garden Lease Program lots, ensure liability insurance according to its’ requirements for community gardens and market gardens
- Gardening Matters resource guide page 2
- American Community Garden Association offers liability insurance policy up to 1 million dollars.
- Minnesota Farmers Market Association can help community gardens find insurance
- St. Cloud-based Advantage 1 Insurance will provide insurance to gardens
Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Audit and Planning
- FDA Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
- Beginning Farmer’s Guide to a GAP Audit
- U of M Extension Guide to Navigating the USDA GAP Audit Process
- Plan templates and Food Safety resources
- GAP Audit Checklist
City of MPLS [requirements]
- Zoning for urban agriculture
- City of Minneapolis Community Garden, Market Garden, and Urban Farm Policy (2015)
- City of Minneapolis criteria for city-owned lot to become a community garden, market garden, and urban farm (2015)
- City of Minneapolis Community Garden Compost Program
- Access to City of Minneapolis water
- Permit and Regulations for Hydrant Usage
Gardening
Garden layout (garden mapping, raised bed)
- Sample garden plan layout
- Old Farmer’s Almanac guide to building a raised bed
- USDA Community Garden Guide Vegetable Garden Planning and Development pages 2, 7-11
- Food Garden Design in North Carolina Community Food Gardening Handbook
- Soil, Pots, and Planters in North Carolina Community Food Gardening Handbook
- U of M Extension Raised Bed resources
- PlanGarden.com
Seeds (planning, seed saving, best crops for MPLS, etc)
- U of M Extension Starting Seeds Indoors and Purchasing Seeds
- U of M Extension Planting The Vegetable Garden
- Upper Midwest gardening calendar
- U of M Extension Master Gardener Seed Trials (updated every January)
- U of M Extension Saving Vegetable Seeds resources
Soil, Compost & Water
- Soil Testing through the U of M soil testing laboratory
- Homegrown Minneapolis Composting and Soil Health
- Urban Gardens and Soil Contaminants: a Gardener’s Guide to Healthy Soil
- U of M Extension Managing Soil and Nutrients
- Lead in the Home Garden and Urban Soil Environment
- Brownfield Remediation: Solutions for Urban Agriculture
- U of M Extension Watering the Vegetable Garden
- Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Organics Recycling Facility – Compost for Commercial and Residential Use
- Mississippi Mushrooms sells compost made of the growing substrate used to produce their mushrooms during their open weekend hours
Harvesting Vegetables
- U of M Extension extensive Harvesting Resources
- U of M Extension Preserving and Preparing
- U of Illinois Extension Harvesting guide
Garden Guides (great for planning, documentation, agreements, materials, pest management, and safety precautions)
- U of M Extension Planting and Growing Guides
- U of M Extension Vegetable resources
- Gardening Matters resource guide
- USDA Community Garden Guide
- University of Missouri Extension Community Gardening Toolkit
- Vegetable Gardening: A Beginner’s Guide by North Carolina State Extension
- VERY detailed and broad Collard Greens and Common Ground: A North Carolina Community Food Gardening Handbook
- University of California Extension Community Garden Start-Up Guide
Donating & Selling Produce
Donation spots (accepting produce at all times)
Farmers markets + stands
- City of Minneapolis Health Department Farmer Market Guide and Regulations
- City of Minneapolis Homegrown Farmers Markets resources
- Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association Guides to Selling Products at Minnesota Farmers’ Markets
- Farmers Markets of Mpls website
- Northside Farmers Markets
- City of Minneapolis Homegrown Farmstands resources