Driving home on another cold and wet winter day, the Longfellow Creek P-Patch caught my eye with its bright yellow and blue sign. A reminder of the warm summer days ahead and thriving gardens whose seeds were just starting to grow.
While I am far from being a gardener, we do have a few raised beds in our yard that I started when the kids were little. A combination of wanting to give my kids the experience of growing something and visions of a robust garden we would harvest all summer long. Well, our pizza garden was a total failure and the teepee of beans was more of a playhouse for the bees than the kids. However, we did manage to grow a pumpkin that first year and then rainbow carrots and little tomatoes the next. We were also fortunate to attend a public school with an incredible gardening program that had my kids coming home raving about the spiciness of sorrel, the salsa they made and the trellis they built.
All of this reminded me what can come from simply digging in the dirt and that if space is the only obstacle then p-patches and community gardens might be the answer. So, me being me, I went home, started researching and here’s what I found.
P-Patches
There are nine p-patches in West Seattle. Three for just the High Point Community and the other six spread around the peninsula. For general information—news, signing up for a p-patch plot and such—go here. To learn about the history of p-patches in Seattle go here.
Wait time for an open plot is usually 1-2 years. However, at the time of this article, Delridge, Longfellow Creek, High Point Commons and Westcrest all had less than that.
- Barton Street
3405 SW Barton Street
Special features: Pizza/bread oven, public art - Delridge
5078 25th Avenue SW
Special features: Accessible raised beds, giving gardens and close to playground - High Point Commons
SW Graham Street & 32nd Avenue SW
Special features: West Seattle Bee Garden
*For residents of the High Point neighborhood (Seattle Housing Authority tenants) - High Point Juneau & Market
5900 32nd Avenue SW
Special features: Summer farm stand where you can purchase produce grown in the garden.
*For residents of the High Point neighborhood (Seattle Housing Authority tenants) - High Point MacArthur Lane Park
2726 SW MacArthur Lane
*For residents of the High Point neighborhood (Seattle Housing Authority tenants) - Solstice
7400 Fauntleroy Way SW
Special features: Several gardens are used as “giving gardens” to supply the West Seattle Food Bank. - Longfellow Creek
2450 SW Thistle Street
Special features: Accessible raised beds, giving gardens and next to Longfellow Creek Legacy Trail. - West Genesee
4101 SW Genesee Street - Westcrest
9000 8th Avenue SW
Other Community Gardens
Located in the Puget Ridge neighborhood, what was once an overgrown lot has become a thriving edible park thanks to passionate neighbors. It's a permaculture project to provide food security for the neighborhood and offers learning opportunities and work parties.
