"Welcome to the Free Garden. The garden is planted and maintained by people like YOU," reads a wooden sign posted at a compact green plot hidden away between the Art Building and the Information Technology Center at the University of Hawaii in Manoa.

The teeming garden of fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers, just off Correa Road, is tended on a volunteer basis by students, faculty and staff, providing a green sanctuary from the hustle and the stress of campus life.

On this day in late April, Rebekah Harter and other student gardeners are checking on how their crops are doing: purple spinach, arugula, tomatoes, basil, oregano and other herbs. The small group knocks down ripened papaya from the tall plants that grew from seeds planted last year. A batch of sweet potatoes was also recently harvested.

In the main plot, the sunn hemp is already showing its bright yellow flowers, and towering sunflower plants are about to bloom.

Harter, a nutrition major in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, is a believer in what she calls "therapeutic horticulture." "I think of working in the garden as not only community work, but also developing interpersonal relationship skills," she said.

Upward of seven volunteers attended the weekly "Growing Conscious 1.0" gatherings organized by Harter and held Tuesdays during the spring semester to keep the garden going.

"It’s nice to have something to do like this in the middle of the day," said Harter, who is also studying French. "Just come and do some gardening and chill out."

One of the regulars is junior nutrition major Wendy Gregg of San Jose, Calif., who lives in student housing. She’s been helping with the garden since September.

"I come here a couple of times a week," she said, using a spoon to eat the sweet pulp of a small, ripened papaya before collecting herbs for a dinner salad.

Established in October 2010, the Free Garden is an outgrowth of the Eating in Public project co-founded by Gaye Chan, professor and chairwoman of the UH Department of Art and Art History, and Nandita Sharma, associate professor of sociology.

The project operates on the credo "TAKE = act without shame, LEAVE = share without condition, WHATEVAS = trust without apology."

In practice, that means anyone walking through the area is welcome to use and eat what’s ripe for the picking.

Sharma, who is away on sabbatical, said in an email the garden represents "our autonomy from forced reliance on the capitalist market for our food. When we have land and we grow food on it, we have more autonomy over our bodies, our health and our community. The beauty — and the design — of the Free Garden is to act as a commons … where common property rights apply."

Sharma, who has done her share of work in the garden, said people "are really respectful of the space. They don’t trash it, and they don’t throw trash in it. People take what they need and can use. They respect other people’s right to do the same."

Even though classes have ended for the year, the garden will continue over the summer. A timed sprinkler system will keep it watered, and before starting their break, Harter and others mulched and planted a variety of seeds that will sprout over the summer. They employ the "lasagna" method of mulching, alternating layers of newspaper mulch and fresh compost.

"We did this 10 weeks ago, and it just took off. Look how lush and easy everything came out," Harter said, scooping out handfuls of dark, rich material.

Except for tackling the "annoying" nut grass, the garden is relatively low maintenance.

"We basically threw 40 varieties of donated seeds from a bowl into this plot," Harter said. "The more we throw in, the less weeds. It’s so dense now. There’s corn growing with beans, some cilantro, and even though the radishes were smaller than usual, they’re sweeter."

Previous crops included squash, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant and watermelons.

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To learn more about the Free Garden, visit facebook.com/projectreclaimyourschool.