July 24, 2012
Welcome to the website of the Newark Street Community Garden Association (NSCGA). Here you can find a history of the garden, a list of the current NSCGA board, photos, and other helpful information. We are a self-sustaining organic community garden established on city land in 1974 in Newark Street Park in Washington, D.C.
We had a very productive year so far. Twenty-three new members joined the garden 
community in the three months since the official start of the garden season. As of today’s date, there are about 65 names on the waiting list. The wait time for plots is between twelve to sixteen months, depending on turnover. For more information on how to apply for a garden plot, visit the Application page.
In April, the District’s Urban Forestry Administration placed two beehives at the edge of the community garden. As reported by WTOP, we are pleased to contribute to the city-wide effort to sustain a healthy honey bee population and, of course, we are also the beneficiaries of the pollination. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the bees store enough honey by the end of this season to make it through their first winter.
This Spring, we replaced 17 old water faucets with a more modern and efficient system.
Old Faucet
New Faucet
We are continuing our community service and educational programs. Since 2004, the NSCGA holds educational sessions for pre-school aged children in a specially created children’s garden.
The University of the District of Columbia’s Cooperative Extension Service maintains a Community Demonstration Plot and brings foreign delegations to visit the community garden.
As we have done during previous growing seasons, we continue to donate produce, such as tomatoes, lettuce, and potatoes, to local food banks.
The dozens of trees that Casey’s Trees planted several years ago at Newark Street Park are thriving and doing well. These include persimmons, red buckeye, maple, river birch, holly, service berry, pine, ornamental plum, and others tree species. This year we had an especially good crop of peaches, apples, and cherries. We are looking forward to the figs in early Autumn.
Our community garden is featured in the newly published (2012) book, “Capitol Splendor: Garden and Parks in Washington, DC” in the section on D.C. community gardens (pages 19 – 21).
The Newark Street Community Garden Association is grateful to the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation and the Urban Forestry Administration of the D.C. Department of Transportation for their much appreciated support.
We can be reached by e-mail at newarkstcommunitygarden@gmail.com.
