Community Agriculture : King Conservation District

Community Agriculture Map

Explore community agriculture projects with our interactive map. For the best experience, we recommend using the map in full screen by clicking on the button in the top right corner of the map.

Learn more about the map.

If you would like to add your garden or update an existing garden please fill out the KCD Community Agriculture Map Survey or email us at miranda.smith@kingcd.org .

Community Agriculture Program

Growing food together in community nourishes our bodies, minds, environment, and neighborhoods. Community gardens not only support our physical health by improving access to nutritious food and promoting physical activity, they also beautify our neighborhoods, build strong communities, and foster the next generation of environmental stewards. The ability to grow food within our urban core has become increasingly important as amplified population density, climate change, and natural disasters cause disruptions to our food system, as we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic. We must safeguard urban water and soil resources and bolster food security and sovereignty, especially in areas facing environmental health disparities and heightened barriers to land and food access.

Image Source: The development of a model of community garden benefits to wellbeing

King County is a thriving area for community agriculture. More than 120 community agriculture projects exist throughout King County, not including the 91 Seattle P-Patches. These projects range from school gardens, church gardens, city parks, orchards, food forests, non-profits, communal farms, giving gardens, and more! They grow fruits, vegetables, herbs, native pollinator plants, and food for donation. Even with these, there is still a high demand for new growing spaces, especially in our densest urban center.

We offer expertise and resources to new gardens to get started, and existing gardens to grow and ensure long-term sustainability. Our services include free resources such as culturally relevant plant starts, compost, cover crop seed, and soil contaminant testing, as well as technical assistance, education, and Seed Money Grants.

If you’d like to request Community Agriculture resources, fill out the request form below, and stay up to date by signing up for our newsletter.

Request Technical Assistance

Project Highlights

School Garden Offers Community & Education - When I first visited White Center Heights Elementary School to discuss their community garden idea,… Read More...
West Seattle Bee Garden Adds Native Plants Through KCD Grant - The West Seattle Bee Garden is an impactful garden causing a lot of buzz in… Read More...
Attain Housing Community Gardens - Attain Housing, a local non-profit that recently partnered with Hopelink, has provided transitional housing for… Read More...

Events

There are no upcoming Events at this time.

Tools and Resources

Seed Money Grants

Application are now closed for 2026!

Seed Money Grants support the creation of new community agriculture projects and the sustainability of existing projects. This in turn promotes resilient food systems and communities and safeguards food sovereignty*. Projects will be selected based on potential for community impact, engagement of diverse groups, and natural resource stewardship.

*Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. -Declaration of Nyéléni, Mali, 2007

A “Community Agriculture Project” includes any group that is growing food together for the benefit of the community.

Eligible projects include:

Raised garden bed construction or repair
Composting systems
Micro (drip) irrigation
Rainwater catchment
Fruit tree/shrub plantings
Fruit tree/shrub pruning
Pollinator plantings
Native plantings
Invasive species removal/weed control
Small greenhouse or hoophouse
Soil amendments (top soil, lime, fertilizer, compost, etc.)
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Other projects with a demonstrated natural resource consideration

All projects require an initial site visit before funds are awarded, as well as a closeout site visit at the culmination of the project. Free technical assistance and support can be provided by KCD upon request for project planning and implementation.

Groups that currently hold a KCD grant are not eligible to apply for the same community agriculture project. Applications from groups that have previously received a Seed Money Grant will not be reviewed until March 1^st, 2026 to allow other organizations the opportunity to apply. Projects must be located within KCD’s service area.

Grant applications must be submitted through the online grant portal. You must have a username and password to log into the online grant portal. If you have applied for a grant from KCD before, contact us for your username and password. If you have not applied to a grant before, you will need to create a new account. The video below explains how to create an account and apply.

Here are questions to help prepare an application for a Seed Money Grant. These will be discussed during the initial site visit.

Review the Application

Review the Evaluation

Example projects: Danny Woo project, West Seattle Bee Garden, Attain Housing

KCD partners with Tilth Alliance and Seattle University to provide hard-to-find and rare cultural plant starts free-of-charge to gardens supporting immigrant, refugee, and BIPOC communities.

Compost

Compost improves soil structure and keeps nutrients in the ground and out of our waterways. It also boosts plant health and productivity!

KCD Partners with the City of Tacoma’s TAGRO program to provide compost free of charge to community agriculture projects each spring. TAGRO products are made from “Class A – Exceptional Quality” biosolids mixed with other weed-free gardening components. Learn more about what’s in TAGRO and safety considerations here.

GroCo™ compost is no longer being produced in partnership with King County. However, we look forward to being able to provide new Loop® compost products, made from organic materials in our wastewater in the future.

Cover Crop Seed

Using cover crops is an important way for gardeners and farmers to protect the soil over the winter and increase nutrients and organic matter in the soil. Roots hold soil in place and prevent nutrients from being washed away into our waterways. The biomass competes with weeds and contributes nutrients. Spring flowers make great food and habitat for pollinators. KCD provides free cover crop seeds to community agriculture programs each fall.

Soil Nutrient & Contaminant Testing

KCD provides basic soil nutrient tests for residents and municipalities in our service area*. Community gardens are also eligible to test for additional soil contaminants for free, like lead and arsenic.

Interested in soil testing?

Find Out More About Soil Nutrient Testing

Technical Assistance

KCD staff can provide free technical support and advice to your community agriculture project relating to garden planning, best management practices, water and soil management, and other natural resource concerns. Ask an expert!

Request Technical Assistance