Community Garden Program

Our Gardens

New Gardens

Lincoln Park Community Garden opened in 2018 with 20 garden plots, including four raised beds and four ADA accessible beds.

How to Get Involved

How does it work?

Each garden is managed by one or more volunteer Garden Coordinators. Coordinators assign plots, help gardeners get seeds and compost, and provide information and advice to those who want it. Garden plots are available on a first-come-first-served basis. If no plot is available, your name may be added to a "wait list". Gardeners are charged a nominal fee and asked to sign a letter of agreement recognizing the cities rights and the gardener's responsibilities.

How do I apply for a garden plot?

To apply for a community garden plot you can fill out an online application form, or download and print the application form. Please keep in mind that the community garden program is an extremely popular program, and waitlists can be quite long.

Community Gardener Resources

• Community Garden Manual
• Somerville Community Garden Plot Renewal Form
  • Web Form
  • Print Form (PDF)
• Somerville Community Garden Plot Application Form
  • Web Form
  • Print Form (PDF)

Who do I contact?

If you have any questions about applying for a plot or the community garden program in general please send an e-mail to somerville.gardens@gmail.com

Other Gardening Programs

The Somerville Community Growing Center

The Somerville Community Growing Center is much more than a Community Garden. Situated on a ¼ acre of gently sloped hillside near Union Square, the site has become the center for both environmental education and cultural performances in Somerville. Initiated in 1994, it is a model for urban land use and collaboration between city government and local non-profit and community agencies. This urban oasis was designed and built by local residents and is maintained by volunteers.

A volunteer group, the Friends of the Community Growing Center, coordinates a full season of concerts and other events open to the public, in addition to educational programming. The Friends recruit and train the Center’s volunteers and also raise the funds to support all programming.

The Center provides a hands-on learning environment for local youth to learn about the natural world, science, community service and cultural issues. After school programs are offered during the fall and spring, and there is a spring vacation camp, in collaboration with local elementary schools, such as the Cummings School. Teachers from Cummings and the High School use this space as an outdoor classroom to support a wide range of educational programs.

The Center has garnered widespread recognition, including a 1995 National Garden Association Youth Garden Award, and a community garden award from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. A number of local, state, and national conferences have featured the Somerville Community Growing Center - which has provided the inspiration for innovative garden programming throughout the United States.

For current programming at the Community Growing Center, go to: www.thegrowingcenter.org.

School Yard Gardens

Groundwork Somerville and the Somerville School Department run an active schoolyard garden program. For more information see the Groundwork Somerville website at www.groundworksomerville.org.