The garden at the Electric City Conservatory is located at 1413 5th Ave. N and is our organic garden. The garden began several years ago as a project for the youth group at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, which was led by Casey Bailey from Fort Benton. He did a fantastic job amending the soil and building the absolutely lovely raised beds that make up the current garden. He turned the garden over to River City Harvest to manage as a community garden in 2010 as other organic and sustainable agriculture endeavors required his full attention. Gary Petrini, one of the owners of Electric City Conservatory (and Flower Farm, its sister greenhouse operation) agreed to have us there. As he had from the beginning, he allowed us to use the property at no charge AND pays for all the water. (He also put up the chain link fence when Casey started it.) With his help, we’ve been able to make this garden a success.
We offer 20 plots to rent with 5 additional ones set aside to grow fresh produce for Meals On Wheels. The sandy 
loam in the form of the raised beds is a great garden bed with fewer weed problems than many other gardens, and the smaller sizes (roughly 100 square feet) is ideal for beginner gardeners, as well as veterans who like to plant intensively.
An herb garden was planted in 2011 for all of our members to use. There are plenty of culinary herbs to enhance your meals, as well as selections of medicinal herbs for those knowledgeable in this area.
We try to hold classes on season extension, soil amendments and herbs each season, with many more to be added to the list in future years.
These gardens fill early, so if you’re interested be sure to contact us as early as possible. The cost is $25 per plot. There is a $40 clean up fee that is refunded at the end of the year if your plot is cleared of debris and any remaining hardware.
The site looks great! I enjoyed reading the history of each garden. Looking forward to 2012!
Thanks so much for all of your help, Erin! You do a fantastic job with the greenhouse (which we need to include in its own page). Enjoy your brief rest before gearing up again for another busy season.
this garden is really close to my home…and i love the idea of organic gardening…
Hello Sue!
Community gardens are places where individuals or families rent a plot, and can grow whatever they’d like for their families. So basically, once you rent the plot you can grow whatever you’d like to eat just as you would in your own backyard. We also have experienced gardeners who offer classes, and others who are just happy to share their experiences and help answer questions.
If you’re interested in joining the fun, please send us an email at rivercityharvest@yahoo.com. We’ll be sure to put you on the list for a plot, if that’s something you’re interested in trying this year. Our gardeners from last year have the first option to decide if they want to come back, then we can let the other plots out to those who want new plots. Electric City is a great spot, and a fun group of people.
Thanks so much for touching base!
Amy