Frequently Asked Questions

What is Kansas City Community Gardens?

Kansas City Community Gardens is a non profit organization whose mission is to empower and inspire low-income households, community groups, and schools in the Kansas City Metropolitan area to grow their own vegetables and fruit. You must sign up for a membership to recieve KCCG benefits.

Can anyone become a KCCG member?

Yes! Everyone is welcome to garden with us! We offer 4 tiers of membership levels, based on your income and the number of people in your household. All members receive the same benefits, but the price you pay will vary depending on your membership level. Simply put, the less your income, the less you’ll pay for gardening supplies and services.

How do I become a member?

You can sign up in person during office hours or online on our membership page.

What do I get as a member?

You get 10 free packs of seeds, a free 10lb bag of chicken manure, and access to our starter plants, additional seeds, and additional fertilizer at membership pricing. We also offer compost, straw, and garden tools.

What kinds of plants and seeds do you offer?

We offer vegetables, flowers, fruits, and herbs that will grow in the KC area.  To see everything we offer and pricing, visit our store page.

I’m brand new to gardening. How do I get started?

We have a lot of resources to get you started. Download our Seeder’s Digest to find out what kind of garden you want to grow.

If you don’t have space to garden at your residence, KCCG has a Rent A Plot program with 8 different locations in the KC metro where you can rent a raised bed or a ground plot. For more information, visit our Rent A Plot page.

We also support neighborhood-led community gardens throughout the city. To see if there’s one near you, use our Find A Garden tool.

We also offer free workshops beginning in February and lasts throughout the spring, summer, and fall. Visit our workshop page to see the schedule.

I would like to start a community garden in my neighborhood. How do I start one?

KCCG has a Community Partner Garden program that can help you get started.

Membership in the program is free, and members may qualify for low-cost or subsidized pricing on lumber and soil for raised garden beds, seeds, plants and gardening supplies.

Visit our Community Partner Garden page for more information.

I would like to start a garden at a school. How do I start one?

KCCG has a Schoolyard Gardens program that can help you get started.

Membership in the program is free, and schools may qualify for subsidized lumber and soil for garden beds, seeds, plants and gardening supplies.

Visit our Schoolyard Gardens page for more information and to see if a garden is right for your school!

I would like to start an orchard. How do I start one?

KCCG has a Giving Grove Orchards program that can help you get started.

Membership in the program is free, and partners may qualify for subsidized fruit trees and orchard construction supplies.

Visit our Giving Grove page for more information.

When do I know when to plant and harvest my vegetables?

Kansas City has 3 gardening seasons – Spring, Summer, and Fall – and the variety you want to plant differs depending on if it’s a cool season or warm season variety.

You can download our growing guides to learn growing tips and when to plant and harvest your seeds and plants. 

For more growing tips, visit our gardening guidesheets page.

For “How To” videos, visit our video library page.

Why are there plant limits?

KCCG serves more than 44,000 households throughout the metro each year. As a non-profit organization, it’s our goal to get plants (that will grow into healthy fruit and veggies!) into the hands of as many people as need them. 

Each season, you can expect to purchase enough transplants plants from us to fill an average-sized backyard garden.

If you have an extra-large garden space (good for you!), consider growing in all three seasons (spring, summer and fall) and choosing crops that grow from seed to supplement your transplants and maximize what you can purchase through us.

How do I get involved?

If you’d like to volunteer, visit our Volunteer page to see all of our upcoming projects.

If you’d like to donate to KCCG, visit our Donate page.