Community Garden Plots

The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) provides Fairfax County residents the opportunity to participate in a positive community gardening experience through the Community Garden Plot program. More than 700 garden plots in nine County parks are rented on an annual basis. Most plots are 30’x20’; 18 plots at Grist Mill Park are 10’x20’.

Demand for garden plot rentals is high, and most locations have a waiting list. To add your name to the waiting list, please complete the online form.

2008 Garden Plot Rules

The purpose of the Garden Plot rules is to ensure that al participating gardeners have the opportunity for a positive gardening experience, that garden plot sites are an asset to the community, and that all plots are used in a productive manner.

Renting a Plot

• The rental period is from January 1 through December 31. Annual fees will not be pro- rated or refunded, and checks should be made payable to the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA). 

• Plots are rented on a first-come first-serve basis in the condition they were left by the previous renter.  If there are no plots available at your preferred location, you will be placed on a waiting list. If a plot becomes available, Park Authority staff will notify you by phone. If you decline the plot, or do not respond within 7 days, the plot will be offered to the next person on the waiting list.

• For new garden plot applicants, only one plot will be issued per household. (If you have gardened, and paid for, more than one plot prior to 1999, you will be allowed to keep your second plot.)

• Garden plots are not rented to commercial growers. Produce grown in FCPA Garden Plots is for personal consumption only and may not be sold.

• Gardeners may not give away or sublet their plots. If you no longer wish to garden, or you are moving out of the area, please call 703-642-0128 to return your plot to the Fairfax County Park Authority so it may be given to someone on the waiting list.

Your Maintenance Responsibilities

• All gardeners must maintain their plots in a reasonable manner. Weeds and garden debris can serve as cover and food for undesirable insects, rodents, and other vermin. The FCPA will, at its discretion, inspect and send notices to gardeners whose plots are weedy, unsightly, or used in an inappropriate way. The letter will instruct the gardener to take corrective action. If no corrective action is taken within 14 days of the date of the letter, the plot will revert back to the FCPA.  No refunds will be given.

• Soil preparation and regular cleanup are the responsibility of each gardener. The trash cans are for small trash only. All organic gardening debris and non-organic debris such as fencing and garden stakes must be carried off site. It is illegal to dump trash in the woods near the garden.

• Gardening is permitted dawn to dusk.

• Tools and related gardening equipment left at a garden plot site are left at your own risk. Hoses must be neatly rolled up and stored. Hoses, stakes, bags and debris must not be left outside the plots; it is a danger to contract mowers.  Please remove all standing water to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

• Using of pesticides must conform to the current recommendations of Virginia Cooperative Extension as outlined in publication 456-018 “Pest management for Home, Grounds, and Animals,” available on the web or on their Home Gardening/Pest management site (www.ext.vt.edu/resources). You may also review this publication in the library at Green Spring Gardens. Be most careful when spraying any type of pesticide or herbicide because it can easily drift onto your neighbor’s tomatoes.

Your Responsibilities to Your Fellow Gardeners

• Please do not block garden paths with vehicles, equipment or debris.

• Highly invasive plants are not allowed. (Call 703-642-0128 for list.)  Neither are trees or black raspberries that run. When in doubt please consult Green Spring Gardens staff before planting. At no time should you build a structure or plant anything that will shade or interfere with another plot. Building berms or channeling water from your plot is not allowed if it adversely affects neighboring plots.

• Access to water is limited at all garden plot sites. Please be considerate of others and only use the water spigots for 15 minute periods if other people are waiting. Please do not leave sprinklers on unattended. When using a hose, it is recommended that you use a ‘Y’ connector and a ‘leader hose’ to allow easy access for other gardeners. ‘Y’ connectors can be found at hardware stores and garden centers.

• Fencing may be used around your plot but it must be made of chicken wire or other open mesh materials that allow light transmission. Fencing may not exceed six feet in height and may not be attached to the numbered garden plot stakes. Under no circumstances should numbered garden plot stakes be removed or relocated. The FCPA reserves the right to prohibit any fencing or other structures which may be detrimental to the site.

• Theft or other illegal activity at garden plot sites should be reported to the Fairfax County police. Call the non-emergency number, 703-691-2131. You can also report these incidents online, directly to the Park Authority.

• Gardeners may dig, plant, weed, and harvest within the confines of their own garden plots. With these exceptions, gardeners must follow the rules and regulations of the FCPA.

Please contact our office at 703-642-0128 if you have questions, or would like to be part of a volunteer effort to monitor and remove trees and shrubs from your site.