P-patches are an asset to any community. 

You don’t need a garden on your own property to plant and harvest a bounty. The beauty of owning a p-patch lot is that you can live in an apartment, say, and still be a farmer. With a little bit of elbow grease and a small investment of time and money, you can supplement your pantry and fridge with your own delicious produce. 

Contact your local neighborhood association to get involved with your community‘s garden.

Here’s a guide to where you can grow your own, in your own neighborhood. 

Disclaimer: what follows is not a comprehensive list. I’ve listed the gardens that I know for sure are open and operational; there may be more out there that I haven’t heard of. Be sure to add any community garden info I may be missing in the comments section below. 

Charles Street Community Garden

Federal Avenue and Charles Street

The Port Gardner Neighborhood Association maintains this small garden on Rucker Hill. This 22-bed patch is for residents of the neighborhood and also for kids at neighboring Jackson Elementary school. The terraced hill is home to garden beds and blueberries.

Bayside Neighborhood Centennial P-Patch

23rd Street and Grand Avenue

The Bayside P-Patch has offered views of the industrial waterfront for almost 25 years. The juxtaposition of beautiful flowers with old factories makes for a most Everett sensation: beauty in a post-industrial setting. The terraced hill has benches for viewing the sunset over Possession Sound, as well as mulched trails leading through small, rentable plots. Rent a plot through the Bayside Neighborhood Association. Grow some kale already. 

Senator Henry M. Jackson Park

1700 State Street

A newer P-patch with 36 plots. Sunflowers, sweet peas, edible greens. Mulch and tools provided. Do some farming with the kids, then take them to the play set right next to the P-patch. Or, pluck your produce from the ground and grill it on the spot at the covered BBQ areas provided by the Parks Department. 

Delta Neighborhood Friendship Garden

12th and Fir Street

This garden is a collaborative effort between residents of EHA housing units and the Delta Neighborhood. Across the street is Wiggum’s Hollow Park— another healthy outlet in this upper east corner of the Everett peninsula.   

Lowell Community Garden

5829 Lowell-Larimer Road

This community garden began in 2009 on an acre of land donated by a generous Lowell resident. The land is rich with silt from the Snohomish River Valley, so your carrots will turn out nice and full of beta carotene. 

More green thumb goodness

You a big permaculture fan? If you’ve read this far, I knew you were. If so, you’re in a place where the municipality is working in your favor. 

Check out the following:

City of Everett rain barrel classes 

City of Everett rain garden program 

WSU master gardener extension

Or, support local produce (without having to grow it yourself) by patronizing the Sno-Isle Food Co-op or the Everett Farmers Market.

Richard Porter is a writer for Live in Everett.