Urban Gardening: DC Community Gardens

In honor of Earth Day, Mini Mag and I spent the day outside exploring. Today we walked through the community garden located in the American University Park neighborhood.

This garden is one of over 30 gardens across the city operated by the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). These community gardens are amazing because they give D.C. residents access to garden space that they may not have otherwise. The gardens also allow DC residents to enjoy free and organic produce, show kids where their food comes from, and help build neighborhoods by engaging neighbors.

How much does it cost?

Most D.C. gardens are either free or don’t exceed $50 annually, and many gardens have free plots reserved for anyone who can't afford the yearly rate.

What kind of commitment is it to get involved with your community's garden?

Commitments vary by each garden. Some gardens just require you to maintain your garden and/or pay a yearly fee. Others try to engage the community more and may have an hourly work requirement each month for public plots and site maintenance.

What can you plant?

Most community gardens are comprised primarily of mostly personal garden plots and anyone can decide what to plant and can take home everything in their plot. However, some gardens do have communal plots. These communal plots have guidelines and rules to determine who can harvest or if it's open to anyone.

Interested in learning more? Check out these local resources:

• DPR Community Gardens

• Urban Gardens Education Program

• DUG: DC Urban Gardeners Network

• Documentary on DC Community Gardens

• Washington Youth Garden

• Common Good City Farm