Plots in the Cedar Rapids Community Garden are for lease as of March 12

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Beginning on March 12, new tenants will be able to lease garden plots at parks in Cedar Rapids.

The Community Climate Action Plan’s Community Gardens in Parks Plan includes the plots as one of its goals, to provide all locals with accessible and reasonably priced means of cultivating and consuming wholesome, culturally appropriate food.

For the first time, Lincolnway Park is renting out twenty conventional plots, each measuring ten feet by twenty feet, and four ADA-raised garden tanks, each measuring three feet by ten feet.

Hashim Taylor, Director of Parks and Recreation, expressed excitement about providing additional gardening possibilities in the parks this year. “Garden plots are getting harder to come by and selling out fast. In the upcoming years, we hope to provide even more.

There are 418 more garden plots available at Sinclair Park, Ellis Park, Tuma Park, and the area around the Gardner Golf Course. Four raised garden beds are accessible in Sinclair Park.

Sinclair and Lincolnway plots rent for twenty-one dollars each. Twenty feet by fifty feet, plots at Tuma, Gardner, and Ellis Park are available for $42 apiece.

The Northwest Recreation Center is open for garden rentals on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To promote more local access to food, a community-driven planning process led to the expansion of community garden plots in parks throughout the city.

From city parks, eight new garden locations were chosen based on several criteria, including accessibility and equity.

Only tenants are permitted to use plots during the spring and fall planting seasons. In compliance with the City’s Zoning Ordinance, they permit the selling of produce at “Public Markets” and may be utilized for the personal cultivation of goods.