We asked the veteran gardeners on our Community Engagement Council at the Organic Gardens at Manatawna Farm to share the kind of information that they wish they had when they first started as a gardener. Those resources are listed for you below.
How Would You Describe The Growing Conditions?
Organic Gardens at Manatawna Farms are located on the Piedmont Plateau geographic region of the Oak-Hickory forest biome of the Eastern Deciduous forest. Nestled in Upper Roxborough section of Philadelphia, right next to White Marsh Township, in zip code 19128.
Spring is often (but not always!) wet and cold until May/June. Our summers are very hot and humid. Fall tends to continue the hot days of summer, but with progressively cooler nights. Winter is cold, with variable snowfall December – February. Temperatures can dip as low as 0-degrees F and as high as 101-degrees F. Our soil tends to be clay, but expect to find rocks and buried non-organic debris (as is typical of urban soils.)
On average, our growing season starts Apr 6 and ends Nov 4, totaling 212 days. Our USDA Plant Hardiness Zone is 7b. You can read more about what makes hardiness zones important for growing on the Abundant Philly blog post here.
What Do You Do In An Emergency?
A good first step is to always call 9-1-1 in an emergency. Note, the garden does not have a conventional address, but you can orient emergency services by giving them the nearby landmark Lankenau Environmental Magnet High School at 201 Spring Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19128.
Directions to the garden from the High School: We often direct vendors to enter the high school into their GPS and the take the first right onto Hagy’s Mill Road, after passing the school building. The garden’s gravel drive entrance will be found at the end of the road to the left.
Keep you & your guests safe! Never remain in the gardens during a storm.
Emergency Contacts as of 2026
Always alert the lead steward for the garden regarding any emergencies so she can be another voice to help you:
Kyonne Isaac, [email protected], cell: 267-225-0301.
White Marsh Township Emergency Services are often faster to respond than the City of Philadelphia.
You can reach out to their emergency services here:
Fire Marshall’s Office:
484-594-2614
Emergency Management: 484-594-2614
Closest Fire Station:
Barren Hill Volunteer Fire Company 610-825-2250
Fire Station:
Spring Mill Fire Company 610-825-1164
City of Philadelphia Police & Fire Contacts
The 5th Police District
Non-Emergency Contact: 215-686-3050
Closest Fire Department: Engine 66, Medic 52
Non-Emergency Contact: 215-686-1300
Excess Produce? These Organizations Accept Donations!
- Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education Wildlife Clinic Wildlife Clinic 304 Port Royal Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19128. 215-482-7300 ext. 2: The Wildlife Clinic takes donations of food stuff (vegetables and fruits). Call if you are unsure of what is accepted.
- Unity Java 5312 Ridge Ave, Philadelphia PA 19128. 267-437-2152: A local single origin and fair trade coffee shop, provides a community fridge, which provides free fresh produce to local residents.
- Germantown Community Fridges
- Mt. Airy Community Fridge and Pantry
Guidance For What & When To Plant
Penn State Extension’s Master Gardener Program has a series of planting guides for Philadelphia that you can access here.
The Pennsylvania Horticulture Society has developed a Getting Started With Food Gardening in Philadelphia guide here.
Donna Long, one of our community gardeners, writes about gardening, native plants & backyard habitats on her blog here.
The Commonwealth of PA provides a series of resources for gardening & landscaping with native plants here.
The National Gardening Association provides suggested dates for planting in Spring, Fall and crop-specific guidance here.
Compost, Mulch, Seeds & Plants
Philadelphia and most of the surrounding townships offer free compost exclusively for their residents, including: Springfield, Cheltenham, Whitemarsh, Abington, Upper Dublin, Upper Marion, Plymouth. Many will offer delivery services for a fee.
City of Philadelphia – Organic Recycling Center (Philadelphia residents)
https://www.phila.gov/services/trees-parks-the-environment/get-organic-materials/ – check the website for specifics
Available items at the Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center include:
- Screened leaf compost.
- Mulch.
- Double-ground mulch.
- Wood chips.
- Other organic materials.
Screened leaf compost is made from leaves and herbivore manure. No sewage or sludge material is used in the processing of the compost. The center is open year-round Monday-Friday from 8 AM – 2:30 PM, and from April-October hours extend to Saturdays 8AM – 2 PM. City residents can get up to 30 gallons of compost, mulch, or manure at no charge. They may do this one time per day and two days per week.
The Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center
3850 Ford Rd.
Philadelphia, PA 19131
Cheltenham Township
https://www.cheltenhamtownship.org/pview.aspx?id=2669#gsc.tab=0
Cheltenham Township invites residents to pick up free leaf compost at three Township locations:
- Curtis Arboretum lower level parking lot, located at Church Road and Greenwood Avenue in Wyncote.
- Kleinheinz Pond parking lot, off of Tookany Parkway in Cheltenham.
- Waverly Road Compost Facility, on Waverly Road in Laverock.
Hours at the Waverly Road Compost Facility are Monday-Friday, 7:30am-2:30pm, and Saturday 10:00am-2:00pm, unless affected by a holiday.
The other locations are open to the public daily. Residents must bring their own shovels and containers to collect the compost. The free compost is generated from materials collected in the municipal leaf and garden debris collection program throughout the Township.
Abington Township – free mulch (residents only) https://www.cheltenhamtownship.org/pview.aspx?id=2669#gsc.tab=0
East Norriton Township – free mulch is available for pick up by the residents of East Norriton Township at the Public Works Garage during normal business hours (7:30 am to 3:30 pm), Monday thru Friday, except holidays. Each resident is responsible to load the mulch themselves. – https://www.eastnorritontwp.org/recycling
West Norriton Township – free mulch is available for pick up by the residents of West Norriton Township at the Bin located behind the Jefferson Fire Company 85 School Lane. Each resident is responsible to load the mulch themselves. https://www.westnorritontwp.org/383/Compost-Material-Joint-Composting-Site
Businesses For Ordering Compost/Organic Material
The following local businesses (listed in no particular order) have been used by growers in the gardens to procure bulk compost & organic material — most will also offer delivery for an additional fee:
- Primex Garden Center
- Linvilla Orchards
- Underdog Landscape Supply
- Tri-State Landscape Equipment & Supplies
- Organic Mechanics
- Laurel Valley
Plant Sales, Local Nurseries, and Hardware Stores
Germantown Kitchen Garden & Plant Nursery: 215 East Penn Street, Philadelphia PA 19144
Holod’s Rental and Garden Center: 5700 Ridge Pike, Lafayette Hill, PA, 19444, 610-828-4505
Primex Garden Center, 435 Glenside Ave. Glenside, PA, 19038, 215-887-7500
Secret Garden Center, 7631 Ridge Ave, Philadelphia , PA 19128
Hoss Tools: high quality U.S. made garden tools
Stanley’s True Value Hardware Center: 5555 Ridge Ave Philadelphia, PA, 19128-2727, (215) 482-1200.
List of Seasonal Plant Sales from the Pennsylvania Native Plant Society
List of Plant Sales & Nurseries from ChooseNatives.org
Secret Garden Center: 7631 Ridge Ave, Philadelphia, 19128 below Charmont, 215-483-5009
Sources for Seeds
- The Mantawna Community Gardens Seed House is currently located near plots E-19. Members are invited to take/leave seeds there.
- Alliance of Native SeedKeepers for ancestral and heirloom seeds from Native/Indigenous communities.
- Botanical Interests Seeds: seeds and garden supplies.
- Homestead Heart Seeds: seed shop of the popular Youtube Channel, Homestead Heart.
- Rusted Garden Vegetable Seeds and Supplies: the seed shop of the popular Youtube Channel, The Rusted Garden . A good source for Neem oil.
- South Exposure Seed Exchange: located in Virginia, sells seeds which do well in our area. The company’s seeds are also sold at Primex Garden Center.
Recommended Youtube Garden Channels
“9 Survival Gardening Crops to Grow in a Post Apocalyptic World” by Epic Gardening on YouTube. Kevin Espiritu is an urban gardener in the San Diego, California area.
“Family of Four Vegetable Gardening Series”, The Rusted Garden on YouTube. Gary Pilarchik gardens in Maryland zone 7 and is an extremely knowledgable gardener.
“Garden Tours”, Yellow Door Urban Homestead on YouTube. Asia lives in Maryland, zone 7 and gardens in a small urban backyard.
“How to Homestead Without Land” on Becoming a Farm Girl on YouTube.com. Cassandra, lives in Maryland zone 7, gardens on a back deck, and teaches how to preserve food.
Garden Answer on Youtube has the largest following for a channel with a female lead/presenter. Laura lives in the Pacific NW and has an extensive home garden that features both food production and ornamental plantings.
This resource guide last updated 14 August 2025 by Donna L. Long
Thank you Donna for putting this resource together!! <3