Rent a Garden

Grow your own heirloom, exotic and pesticide-free vegetables. Gardening is a great way to meet new people and get some exercise. Rent a garden plot today!

Milwaukee County UW-Extension rents garden plots in many parts of the county. We also provide technical assistance to neighborhood groups that run their own community gardens. For more information about renting a garden, read the information below and contact Gertrud Zoeller at 414-290-2405 or by email.

Annual Plots
Most plots are annual rentals available for the summer season from about May 25 to the 3rd Sunday in October. These plots are tilled and staked by the staff of the UW-Extension Urban Agriculture Program. You can keep the same plot from one season to the next if you renew your rental by March 16.

Year 'Round Plots
Year 'round garden plots are available in some locations to allow gardeners to grow perennial fruits and vegetables such as raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries and asparagus. Year 'round plots also afford gardeners an opportunity to grow early and late season vegetables such as spinach and collards. These plots are rented from January through December. Gardeners are responsible for tilling and maintaining their plots. Tall structures and trees are not allowed. Plots should look tidy in winter. You can keep the same plot from one season to the next if you renew your rental by February 1.

Plot Sizes and Fees
Plot sizes range from 400 square feet to 900 square feet. To help defray the costs of tilling, staking, providing water, and administration, gardeners pay nominal rental fees. Rental fees range from $22 for 400 square feet plots to $46 for 900 square feet plots.

Garden Locations
We currently have garden plots for rent in the cities of Milwaukee, Oak Creek and Wauwatosa. For a list of plot locations, sizes and rental fees, click on the location you want:

• Milwaukee
• Oak Creek
• Wauwatosa

Garden Rules and Guidelines

1. Plants must be grown within the plot boundaries.
    
2. Only established paths going to and from your plots may be used.
    
3. Children should be restricted to your plot and the common areas of the garden.
    
4. Plastic mulch and plastic orange fences are not allowed.
    
5. Garden and pathways should be free of weeds all season.
    
6. No pets are allowed in the gardens.
    
7. Gardens should look tidy all growing season.
    
8. In the Fall, remove all materials that were brought into the garden. If it grew in the garden, it can stay in the garden.
    
9. Parking on the road near your garden is allowed if a second vehicle can pass by.
    
10. WARNING LETTER:
    If the Urban Agriculture staff notice that the above rules and guildelines have not been followed, then you will receive a warning letter explaining what problems need to be addressed. If the situation has not been corrected after one month, you will lose the plot and it will be assigned to a different gardener.
     
11. Stealing and vandalism will not be tolerated. At the gardens in Oak Creek, call the City of Oak Creek Police Department at 414-762-8200 to report theft or vandalism problems. For the Wauwatosa Garden, call the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Dispatcher at 414-278-4788. For gardens in the City of Milwaukee, call the non-emergency phone for police, 414-933-4444. If you have an emergency, call 911.

Additional Rules for Year 'Round Garden Plots

1. For fencing, use 12.5 gauge welded wire fencing that is 4 feet high.
    
2. No storage of materials other than gardening supplies will be tolerated in the garden plot or surrounding area.
    
3. All plastic milk jugs, containers, etc. should be removed in the Fall.
    
4. Trees are not allowed in the garden plots.

Why Garden?
Gardens and green space are important in the urban environment. Residents at health care facilities, apartments and condominiums may not have the opportunity or space to garden. Unused urban open space can provide the needed land to build gardens.Gardens provide space to grow nutritious food and gardeners can save money on produce. Gardening is a great family recreational activity. Participants share traditions with each other and their children.

To learn more about the value of community gardening, read the "Evaluation of Community Gardens" by Jill Florence Lackey & Associates, February 1998. Copies are available from Dennis Lukaszewski at 414-290-2413 or by email.