For nearly fifty years, our gardens have offered an escape from the chaos of city life. During the height of the growing season, one can get lost amid towering yellow corn, bright red heirloom tomatoes, meandering flower beds, sprawling pumpkin patches, and much more. Nestled in Upper Roxborough, our gardens are surrounded by serene farmland and scenic views. As one of Philadelphia’s largest community gardens, we offer large garden plots and always have space for new gardeners. Our amenities include ample parking, multi-gate access points, a hose system for irrigation, a porta potty, and community tool sheds.
Our gardens serve many purposes. Most are trying horticulture as a fun hobby, growing fruits and vegetables for themselves, friends, family, and local food banks. Others aim to attract diverse pollinators and some oversee horticultural research projects. Some gardeners use their plot as an unofficial backyard. Gardeners combine aesthetic landscaping, seasonal flowers, and modest crop production to produce a relaxing oasis all their own.
Though our gardens host many leisurely moments, it takes hard work from our gardeners, Schuylkill Center staff, and various volunteer groups to maintain their condition. If left unchecked, invasive weeds and vines can quickly claim entire plots. If you don’t harvest your crops in a timely manner, other wildlife will harvest it for themselves. Local deer are usually the first to find a hole in the fence. Working a garden plot isn’t easy–but our gardeners agree it’s worth the time they put in.
The benefits of community gardening are documented and well-known. Our garden provides participants with a source of fresh, local, inexpensive produce, promoting healthy and sustainable eating. Gardening is recreation; gardeners of all ages benefit physically and mentally from light exercise and fresh air. Our gardens bring together gardeners of all skill levels, where they can build and share the universal skill of working the land. Most importantly, our gardens are a community, where people build friendships and work together for common goals.
If you have any other questions or would like to get involved, contact Steve Goin, Director of Land and Facilities, at [email protected]. If you’d like to know more, please read through the Frequently Asked Questions. We always have plots available and we are welcoming to all. Though most gardeners get signed up in March or April, it’s never too late (or too early) to take a tour of the gardens to see what’s available.
You can grow whatever you want, as long as the plant isn’t on the PA DCNR’s list of invasive plants or a tree/shrub that reaches maturity over 6′ height. Most gardeners grow produce and vegetables for their family, friends and churches. A few will grow for restaurants or other business ventures, while many donate to local food banks or our Wildlife Clinic. Some gardeners plant to attract pollinators, some oversee horticultural research projects, some craft their gardens into a beautiful oasis in the city, and most combine some or all of the above.
If your harvest is abundant, you can give it away to your friends and family or donate fresh produce to one of the following organizations:
The Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic at the Schuylkill Center accepts produce donations, which they use to feed sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife under their care. They can accept everything except for tomatoes, garlic, or any type of onion. To make a donation, bring produce to the Wildlife Clinic during open hours (8 am to 8 pm daily). The clinic is located around the corner at 304 Port Royal Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19128. Read more about the clinic.
Roxborough Presbyterian Church operates a food bank, open on Thursdays from 11 am to 1 pm, located at 8230 Ridge Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19128.
North Light Community Center in Manayunk accepts food donations for their Friends in Supply Help (FISH) program. They are open for drop-offs on Mondays and Fridays from 1pm to 3pm, located at 175 Green Ln, Philadelphia, PA 19127.
Philabundance accepts food drop-offs at two locations:
3616 Galloway Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148 (Main Office)
302 West Berks Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122 (North Philadelphia Warehouse)
We accept all major forms of payment at the front desk of our Visitor Center, located at 8480 Hagys Mill Road. If you can’t get to the desk, you can send a check in the mail or make payment with a card over the phone by calling our front desk at 215-482-8217.
Plots are rented for one year beginning March 14, 2024 and ending March 13, 2025 regardless of when the license or payment was submitted. Gardeners returning from a previous year can renew their lease for those plots.
It depends. As a guideline, expect to spend at least one day a week working your plot, with additional visits as needed. The workload varies depending on the number of plots you take, the condition of the plot when you start, the plants you grow, the amount of rain, and more. Generally, gardeners who spend more time working their plots achieve better results. We do not recommend renting a plot if you have a very busy schedule or will be taking long vacations this summer.
Once you have rented one or more plots, the land is your responsibility. The Schuylkill Center is a non-profit and we have little time or money to devote to tending the gardens. However, we try to give all gardeners the resources to succeed, so please ask if there is anything specific you need. We coordinate several volunteer work days, where groups trim vines, mend fences, and otherwise maintain the gardens. We also are responsible for mowing the walkways.
All plots are rented “as-is,” meaning that you accept the plot in its condition and the Schuylkill Center is not responsible. Some of the available plots were recently occupied and are free of weeds or debris. Others are fallow and overgrown. We recommend you pick a plot that is a good fit for your experience and lifestyle. Consider the number of plots, the need for construction projects (i.e. fencing, raised beds), proximity to amenities (entrance gates, irrigation spigots, wood chips, compost piles), amount of weeds/brush, and the amount of sunlight or shade.
Yes, any use of chemical fertilizer, pesticides, or additives is strictly prohibited. Any product used to improve plant health should be on the OMRI Product List, a list of approved organic materials.
There are twenty-eight irrigation spigots throughout the gardens, two for each aisle. No plot is more than about 100 feet from a tap. Please conserve water, not only for the environmental benefits, but also because we do have to pay for the water from the city. Running the water while you aren’t there is strictly prohibited (no automatic watering systems). We ask that you don’t leave your hose hooked up or lying in the aisle, or it may be destroyed by our mowers.
There is a port-a-potty at the gardens from April to September. You can use the bathrooms at the Schuylkill Center’s Visitor Center around the corner at 8480 Hagy’s Mill Road. The Center is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday through Saturday.
Gardeners deal with many invasive plants, and devote lots of time to weeding and trimming vines. Consult the PA DCNR’s list of invasive plants and do not plant any invasives.
We have two large piles of green waste, one by the main entrance and another by the woods. Though these piles are labeled “compost”, they contain many live seeds and should not be used to fertilize soil.
Affordable compost is available through several different sources:
W. B. Saul High School’s “Henry Got Compost” program offers high-quality organic compost made from manure and food waste sourced from local farms, restaurants, and zoos. Contact [email protected] for more information.
Gardeners are welcome to create a compost area within their garden plots.
Municipal compost centers
Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center, free for Philadelphia Residents only
Springfield Township, free for residents only
Cheltenham Township, free for residents only
Whitemarsh Township, free for residents only
Abington Township, free for residents only
Upper Dublin Township, free for residents only
Upper Marion Township, free for residents only
Plymouth Township, free with $30 cost of delivery
Local Businesses
Bennett Compost, located at 2901 W. Hunting Park Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19129
Mulch Works Recycling, Inc. Located in Aston PA, but delivers across Philadelphia
Primex Garden Center, in Glenside, PA
Organic Mechanics, in Modena, PA; for sale at many local garden centers
Most plots in our gardens are at least partially surrounded by fences. Fences are not formally required but most gardeners have them to keep out deer and other animals. If your plot already has an existing fence, you are required to maintain that fence so that it does not fall into the aisles or a neighbor’s plot. If you are replacing the fence, you must maintain the original boundaries of the plot without expanding. If you share a fence with a neighbor, you must work together to coordinate its maintenance.
Yes! Deer, groundhogs, and other animals frequently visit our gardens. Please keep all gates closed in the perimeter fence. To keep deer out of your plot, maintain a high fence (~8 feet) around them. To keep groundhogs out, make sure your fence is buried approximately 2 feet into the ground. To prevent crop losses, be sure to harvest your produce quickly before birds and other animals get to it.
Yes, the Schuylkill Center provides wood chips for gardeners to cover walkways within their plots and limit the growth of weeds. Wood chip piles are outside the fence along the edge of the gardens.
We have two communal tool sheds, both just inside the perimeter fence, one near the main entrance, and one along the side facing the woods. Sheds contain wheelbarrows, hoes, and other equipment that gardeners have donated. Feel free to borrow these, or to contribute your own equipment for the group’s use. But make sure you put back anything you take!
The Schuylkill Center inspects all gardeners’ plots three times a year: mid-June, mid-July, and mid-August. Inspections are to make sure that gardeners are using their plots in accordance with the rules. Common issues include fences falling into walkways, overgrown vines blocking walkways, or absentee gardeners not tending their plots at all.
HELP SUPPORT THE SCHUYLKILL CENTER and enjoy benefits including discounts on bird seed, our gift shop, native plants, tickets to public programs, our newsletter, access to over 180 national nature centers, priority registration, and so much more! You'll be a part of a special community of nature and wildlife champions helping connect people to the outdoors in Philadelphia.
IF YOU HAVE FOUND AN INJURED WILD ANIMAL, the Schuylkill Center Wildlife Clinic can help! At the Wildlife Clinic, our goal is to provide professional care to sick, injured, and orphaned native wildlife so healthy animals can be returned to their natural habitat.
Please call our 24-hour wildlife hotline at 215-482-7300, option 2 to for our team to assist. Do not try to pick up or move an injured animal until you have spoken with a professional who can guide you on the safest method of action.
