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Community Garden

Finding Inspiration in Nature

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Community Benefit

First Congregational community gardens produce everything from sweet potatoes and cucumbers to carrots, okra and sage;  feeding our gardeners' families and five families of the Central Park community.  Our patch of wildflowers and native pollinators provided rest and nourishment for migrating butterflies and hungry hummingbirds.

Our gardens consist of fenced raised and sand bed areas, fruit trees, and a pollinator garden.

Raised and sunken beds (with sand walls) are available for adoption each garden season.  We are a member of Topeka Common Ground and they take orders for seedlings in January so that is when we organize for the year.  We have a lottery for beds, with preference given to prior year gardeners and volunteers regarding size.  Non church members are welcome.

Pollinator garden was founded by Mary Powell and volunteers are welcome to learn from her vast experience and to help maintain.

Fruit Trees are donated by an estate and volunteer work includes monitoring for and harvesting Japanese beetles during their one month invasion time.

Other volunteer opportunities helping build more beds, keeping water barrels full, maintaining paths and composting.

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Garden Bed Guidelines

  1. An email address is needed.  We need to be able to contact everyone in one form of communication.   Please provide an email address that you check at least once a week.

  2. You are responsible for planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting your own bed(s).

  3. If you need temporary help due to vacation or illness, email the group or an individual for assistance. Our group members are helpful and/or will trade with you.

  4. You are responsible for weeding the pathways around your bed.  We are gradually replacing the plastic and mulch in the paths, the most needed areas first.

  5. Do not let your vines go into the path.  You need to stake or tie up your plants and check them after each storm.  We have plenty of extra cages.

  6. ​​If you have extra produce, you can let us know.  Be specific, so we know what to pick.  We can use it for the Food pantry or Doorstep.

  7. If you empty a water barrel or tank and cannot refill it, please let us know.

  8. The Herb area are perennials planted by Karen M, Michael C. and the garden founders.  Help yourself with Love.

  9. When finalized, the diagram of who has which bed will be scanned and emailed.

  10. We try to be an organic garden.  Please do not use non-organic chemicals.

  11. Emailing the group:  Be mindful of everyone's time - do not "reply all" if the topic does not apply to everyone.  Change the subject line when you are starting a new topic.

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