Hello and welcome to Meadow Hill Community Gardens! This garden has been lovingly tended since 2006. Located behind Meadow Hill Middle School, this garden and outdoor classroom is the oldest vegetable and fruit school garden in Missoula. Nowadays, this garden operates as a community garden, but maintains its whimsical charm as an outdoor classroom, where community members, young and old, can come together to work and learn. (For information on our ten other community garden sites, click here).

Please read all of the important information below and watch the video tour (link below), so you are familiar with your garden’s amenities and resources. We hope that with an understanding of all the pieces that make up this special garden site, you will help us care for it and keep it functioning and thriving for the benefit of everyone.

WEED PILE Location

Weeds must be separated from other garden waste and placed in designated weed pile, located outside the drive in gate on the west end of the garden. (Just follow the painted signs!) DO NOT put weeds in the house compost system! Stalky plants (i.e. sunflower, corn, kale or brussels sprout stalks that take a long time to decompose) also go in the designated weed pile.

Please take the time to separate your house-compostable garden materials from the weeds and stalks, and absolutely no dumping of personal home yard or garden waste is allowed. Also, please do not add straw, soil, potted plants, plastic, or any other yard waste to the weed pile. As you’ll see, we are limited in space and capacity and we are not the local compost facility. Garden City Harvest staff tractors the weed pile once a year to help it decompose on site and so it can be used as compost in future years.

The video orientation below reflects the new weed pile location.

Important House Keeping Items:

Always close the gate to keep deer and dogs out.

Always lock the gate and make sure to double check the lock when leaving the garden (spin the numbers and give it a little yank to make sure it is indeed locked).

Communicate with your garden neighbors! Here is the link to Meadow Hill Garden's private gardener Facebook group. This is a great way to communicate with fellow gardeners and stay up to date with other happenings or updates in the garden.

For issues and inquires, contact Community Garden Staff or your garden’s leadership committee (contact info in the shed).

contact staff

Garden Shed and Tools

Upon entering the garden, to your left is our new fancy wooden shed. The shed’s combination is in the orientation email you just received. Inside the shed you’ll find communal garden tools for your use at the garden. On the door of the shed when you walk in is contact information for Garden City Harvest staff and your garden’s leadership committee (amazing fellow gardeners who volunteer their time to help you and Garden City Harvest staff!) A first aid kit, important safety information, and other documents will be posted here too.

Inside, you’ll also find resources on gardening, a recipe card box to log your three service hours, and free seeds.

Remember, all gardeners are required to fill at least three hours helping to maintain the greater community garden and communal areas.

Make sure to read the “Communal Areas” section at the bottom of the blog for ideas on how to fill these hours…

hoses and watering

To turn the water on at the garden site, find the green valve box, located at ground level between the shed and the compost bins. Take the lid off the valve box and turn the handle so it is parallel to the pipes to turn the water on. Then go to the hose and turn on the water at the hose bib. Always remember to turn off the main water at the valve box when done.

Spigots and garden hoses are distributed throughout the garden around the north and east side of the garden. These are communal and shared among all gardeners. When done with the hose, please coil it up, so it is not a tripping hazard. Also, release the water pressure in the hose by opening the hose nozzle after turning off the water at the spigot. This will help our hoses last longer because water that sits in a hose will expand in the heat and cause the hose material to break down faster.

Soil amendments

Compost

This garden has a “house” compost system. This is for vegetable scraps from your garden and kitchen. DO NOT ADD WEEDS, FIBROUS PLANT STALKS, ANIMAL PRODUCTS, PAPER PRODUCTS, TRASH OR COMMERCIAL-GRADE COMPOSTABLE ITEMS. These items will not break down in our simple bin system.

All inputs start at the big bin in the corner and are turned (moved with a digging fork or shovel) to the next bin as they break down to make room for fresh scraps! The decomposed compost in the farthest right bin is good to use in your garden. You can sift it into a wheelbarrow or bucket with the soil sifters to filter out any scraps that didn’t decompose. Keep in mind, this compost system doesn’t break down on it’s own. It requires time, water, and attention. If the compost starts to smell, it either doesn't have enough carbon (straw) or it needs to be turned, which gives it oxygen and reduces the smell. During the summer months, water the compost frequently (every day or two) to keep it cooking.

Manure

Garden City Harvest brings in composted manure every spring for community gardeners to help supplement their garden soil. Each garden plot is allotted two 5-gallon buckets of manure each spring. Compost will be dumped outside the garden fence in the northwest corner of the site. Gardeners are also encouraged to build their own soil by bringing in other amendments as long as it does not have chemicals, bio solids (treated sewage), or synthetic fertilizers. Check out our Sustainable Growing Guidelines for more information.

Straw

You might find straw bales from last fall near the shed. These are for community gardener use as well. We recommend you use straw only for mulching garlic and overwintering crops. Unfortunately, due to rising prices of straw and diminishing local sources, Garden City Harvest cannot provide every gardener with straw and ask those who have the means to purchase your own straw in the fall. If you do use the straw we provide, please limit your use to 1/2 bale per plot. We also strongly encourage you to use leaves if you have them available as they are a great mulch for your overwintering soil. Straw can be found at Ace Hardware, Murdochs, CHS Mountain West Co-op, and local nurseries.

Please place used straw that you rake off your plot next to the compost bins to be mixed in with the vegetable scraps.

COMMUNAL AREAS

There are several other communal areas and resources in the garden. Many of these will benefit you and your garden. Additionally, Meadow Hill Garden is located on school property, so it is important to be respectful tenants and neighbors. Here’s a list of things that all community gardeners are collectively responsible for, so please do your part and chip in those three hours (or more)!

Community berries, herbs, and fruit trees! Follow the many “Care and Share” or “Community Plot” signs around the garden to find all of the amazing community plots. Help with watering and weeding and in turn enjoy the harvest with your fellow gardeners.
Compost: When the compost gets stinky or full, move each pile to the right (See the compost section above for more info). During the summer months water it frequently (every day or every other day) so that it stays moist to the touch.
Tool shed: Help us keep it clean and tidy. Occasionally, it will need to be reorganized.
Trash: The rule is pack it in and pack it out, but inevitably trash ends up blowing around the garden. Spend a couple minutes helping us pick up trash around the garden site.
Need more ideas? Contact your leadership committee - contact info in the shed!

MOST WANTED WEEDS

Weeding is a fundamental part of gardening and should be done weekly. If you keep up with it using a hoop (hula) hoe, it should take no more than an hour a week to keep your plot clear of most weeds. If you choose to weed less often, the task will get exponentially more difficult, and you will be on your hands and knees digging out weeds. Keep your eyes out for notices about weeds throughout the growing season. Watch the video tutorials and look at the photos below for weeding tips, and if you have any questions about weeds, please ask!

While there are many garden weeds, we have two problem plants on the site - quack grass and bindweed. These weeds should be placed in the weed pile, after you make sure to shake out any clumps of dirt.

Quackgrass

Quackgrass is grass with white, wire like roots and should be added to the weed pile. Use a digging fork to loosen the soil and make it easier to pull out the roots. Make sure you shake out any clumps of dirt.

Bindweed

Bindweed is a perennial that is very sneaky. We want you to be able to ID it before it flowers and weed it out. It has arrow-shaped leaves, white flowers, and vines around anything nearby. Put bindweed in the weed pile.

Meadow Hill Community Garden Orientation