With spring quickly out the door and summer right around the corner, now’s the time to start planting whatever it is you want to grow. But not all of us in the city have the luxury of living with enough of a yard to have a garden. Moreover, growing your own fruits and veggies is hard. Luckily, D.C. has a number of urban/community farms and gardens for you to be involved with. Here are some of our favorites.
Photo of the Farm at Walker-Jones, now the K Street Farm.
COMMON GOOD: Situated on V Street NW between 2nd and 4th Streets, Common Good is a community farm whose mission is to “grow food, educate, and help low-income” community members get quality vegetables. It’s a classic urban farm community system enhanced with a number of programs and volunteer opportunities to be involved. — Matt Cohen
Common Good is located on V Street NW, between 2nd and 4th Streets. More info can be found here.
ECO CITY FARMS: This Prince George’s County non-profit is meant to serve as a prototype for successful urban farming. Their flagship farm in Edmonston (it is around the corner from Community Forklift) is a hive of activity on a modest one acre—with five hoop houses, ducks, bees, and compost each having their place. Anchoring the land is an equally well-thought out kitchen and learning space fashioned out of a shipping container. Every visit finds some new addition, from rainwater barrels to whatever veggies are latest in season (which are sold at the Riverdale farmers’ market and through a farm share). — Rachel Sadon
ECO City’s flagship farm is located at 4913 Crittenden Street in Edmonston, Md.
THE K STREET FARM: What was formerly the Farm at Walker-Jones is now known as the K Street Farm. It’s the same one-acre plot of land adjacent to the Walker-Jones Education campus, but after The Farm was threatened to be redeveloped into housing and retail space—because of course—before it was taken over by DC Greens. Now, the space is “a unique resource for the teachers, students, and parents at Walker Jones and the surrounding community.” It also serves as a training site for DC Greens’ “network of school garden coordinators from all 8 wards of the city. — Matt Cohen
The K Street Farm is located at 111 K Street NW. Click here info on volunteering.
OLD CITY FARM AND GUILD: More of a nursery than community farm, Old City is one of those places that you stumble upon in the midst of busy Rhode Island Avenue and immediately start dreaming of building your own funky garden oasis. Located on the site of a closed school, the non-profit is bursting with life—both literally, filled with plants and trees and herbs, and figuratively, a whimsical space that is far more inspiring than the generic garden center at Home Depot. In addition to gardening supplies, you’ll find a rich repository of knowledge in Old City’s staff as well as the occasional workshop, party, or community event. — Rachel Sadon
Old City Farm and Guild is located at 925 Rhode Island Avenue NW.
Three Part Harmony Farm. Via Facebook.
ROOTING DC: Okay, this isn’t actually a farm. But this free annual forum is something that any gardener or would-be urban farmer should have on their calender. More than 1,000 people turn out in February for a day of learning from local non-profits, farmers, and specialists. The workshops run the gamut, teaching attendees things like how to build a raised bed or a self-watering planter, deal with garden pests, keep bees, improve soil, and save seeds. Other workshops are focused less on the soil and more on the social and economic implications of gardening, things like eating well on a budget or creating a sustainable “food justice” program. They also maintain a comprehensive map of both gardens and farmers’ markets across the District. — Rachel Sadon
For more information on Rooting DC, click here.
THREE PART HARMONY FARM:Tucked away behind the provincial house of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Brookland, Three Part Harmony Farm serves Northeast and the rest of the city with fresh, urban-farmed vegetables and fruits. In addition to offering a CSA for members, Three Part Harmony Farm has produce at Indian market Pansaari (1603 17th Street NW) and seedlings at Annie’s Ace Hardware in Petworth. They’re also in the process of getting their produce in some farmers’ markets throughout D.C. — Matt Cohen
You can learn more about Three Part Harmony’s CSA program here.
WANGARI GARDENS: Named for Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, an environmental and women’s rights activist whose Greenbelt movement planted more than 30 million trees, this 2.7 acre garden park near the McMillan Reservoir wants to be a space for all members of the community. In addition to private garden plots (you must live within 1.5 miles to qualify), members maintain free public gardens filled with vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, and berries that anyone is welcome to enjoy and harvest from. And if nothing else, visitors can swing gently under the willow oaks in the city’s first (only?) public hammock. — Rachel Sadon
Wangari Gardens is located between Kenyon Street, Irving Street, and Park Place NW (next to the Washington Hospital).
WASHINGTON YOUTH GARDEN: Supported by Friends of the National Arboretum, Washington Youth Garden sits in the picturesque U.S. National Arboretum and is one of several youth gardens that was created by the Department of Parks and Recreation (yes, like in the show) in the ’60s and ’70s. It was created to teach horticultural skills—and all that comes with it—to elementary schools students and has since expanded to be a fully functioning garden and farm that “promotes healthy lifestyles.” They’re always looking for volunteers, which you can find out about here. — Matt Cohen
Washington Youth Garden is located at 3501 New York Avenue NE.
