Explore Ballard gardens and learn from the experts at the 12th Annual Edible Garden Tour

The annual Edible Garden Tour is coming up soon, with over a dozen Ballard residents showing their gardens and sharing their secrets.

The pandemic sparked a renewed interest in gardening, and this year’s tour reflects that. Sustainable Ballard‘s 12th Annual Edible Garden Tour will include 18 home gardens around the neighborhood. The self-guided tour will be on Saturday, June 26 from 10am to 3pm, starting in West Woodland.

The cost is a $15 donation and children age 10 and under are free of entry with no registration required. For kids over 10 and adults, register here. The donation will support Sustainable Ballard’s community projects. You will also have the option to sign up for a paid membership to become a Sustainable Ballard member (if you are a member already this event is free of charge).

On the day of the event, visit the green tent set up at Gilman Playfield (923 NW 54th St) to pick up your map and begin the tour. The tour will have COVID precautions in place and masks will be required for all participants.

All gardens in the tour are within walking or biking distance from one another. The tour views range from gardens, planting strips, chickens, and other creative edible trees such as fruit and veggie trees. If you are new to gardening this is an opportunity to get some tips from gardeners who will be there to answer any questions.  

“As anyone who’s recently tried to find vegetable seeds or plant starts can attest, there has been a renewed interest in edible gardening this year as people spend more time at home and try to make do with fewer grocery trips,” Sustainable Ballard writes in their event into. “Sustainable Ballard hopes that our annual Edible Garden Tour will inspire and inform all the budding gardeners out there!”

If you want to help out the Edible Garden Tour hosts, you can help by weeding a garden for an hour or two before June 26. Sustainable Ballard is also looking for volunteers to help hang up posters, prepare gift baskets, and deliver signage to homes on the tour. They also need help with registration on the day of the event, and giving garden hosts breaks throughout the day of the tour. Please email Olivia (oliviagprice@hotmail.com) to sign up. 

Sustainable Ballard is a non-profit organization formed in 2003 and the first neighborhood sustainability group in Seattle, and is the founding organization of Sustainable Communities All Over Puget Sound (SCALLOPS). The goal of Sustainable Ballard is to help prepare their community to sustain and support each other to build a healthy and joyful life that is sustainable. 

Photo: Sustainable Ballard Facebook