Naperville Park District Garden Plots

Great idea, great price at $ 40 a summer but that $ 40 turns into serval hundred pretty quick. The soil there is absolutely useless, my buddy actually tested it and the results were worse than we thought. We had 2 plots in the organic section which doesn’t get a whole lot of sun if your close to the tree line. Mostly everything we grew came in McIntyre sizes cuz the soil/​clay had no nutrients and didn’t allow the roots to prosper. Might be different in the regular sections. Everyone out there is pretty friendly. Spigots in each row are semi/​usefull they can add more.
My one truly negative experience is with how they regulate the organic section. It’s an organic section for a reason and I busted my butt picking weeds and trying every trick in the book to make my plants grow bigger and I expected everyone else in that section to respect the organic ways… after a couple weeks I spotted a few plots close to mine where the owners were spraying non organic pesticides and fertilizers. When I reported the issue they told me to ask the people to not use them… not my job. It never was addressed even after another complaint that these people were cared so little that they left their poison bottles in theirs plots for me to look at every day… kinda a slap to the face.
Your plants are mostly safe from poachers by I have seen people rummaging thru other people’s gardens and taking some of their veggies… karma will get them

I am not very interested in gardens, but I have been to the Garden Plots. It is a pretty nice place. I didn’t get a chance to take a walk around it, but I think it is a good area for anybody to relax and spend time at on a nice day.
I spent a few hours on a hot and sunny summer day in 2004 at the Garden Plots. The Naperville Park District held a special event and I was chosen by a park district worker to perform volunteer work for the event. I was the lone volunteer, which I felt was great despite having to work very hard. I’ve volunteered before at other events when I lived in Naperville, but couldn’t stand it because I had to work with some annoying individuals who were outgoing and acted like they were the best volunteer workers that day. I enjoyed being the only volunteer for this event at the Garden Plots.
Since it was a hot and sunny day, I wore sunglasses, a t-​shirt and shorts along with white low top Reebok Freestyle shoes. I wasn’t into wearing flip-​flops at that time, but I don’t think I would’ve been comfortable wearing them at the Garden Plots because of the long grass. The shoelaces of my Reeboks were long and untied a lot, so on that day, I tied those white strings as tightly as I could. I was happy they didn’t come undone while I was working. But since I didn’t double tie them, the laces did touch the long grass. Fortunately, they didn’t have grass and dirt marks on them. Prior to the event starting, I recall sitting on a chair and being in a peaceful state of mind, looking at the garden.
The park district worker was very affable to me. That meant a lot to me because the other people such as the sponsors of the event weren’t kind at all. That could’ve dampen my time at a great place like the Garden Plots. But having that district worker around brighten up my day. I had to set up painting tools for the kids to paint. I recall it was a lot of hard work on my part. It was pretty messy and hectic taking care of the paint sets, the brushes, dumping dirty water caused by the paint and getting the kids a clean bucket of water. In attempting to cheer up some of the kids, I complemented them on their paintings. I remember working non-​stop, constantly walking around as there was a festive atmosphere among the people. I wasn’t envious of them having a good time and me working. I knew what I was getting into when I chose to volunteer. Again, I liked the duties I did that day.
At the conclusion of the event, the park district worker gushed to me of how great a job I did. The complement meant a lot to me. I never take any praise I receive for granted. It seemed like I would volunteer for the event again the following year or for other district events. It never happened. A couple of years later, in 2006, I moved to Ohio. I feel fortunate to be currently employed, but I haven’t done volunteer work in Ohio and miss doing it. But I still feel I’ll have a chance to in the near future. I’ll always fondly remember the volunteer opportunity that gave me a chance to spend time at a splendid place like the Garden Plots. Had I visited it more and seen more of it, I would’ve given it a higher rating.

Every day since I moved to Naperville, I have driven past the Garden Plots. Anxiously awaiting to see when the gardeners would come out, what plant would be placed in the allotted space, and how long it would take for plant starts to shoot out from the ground.
I took a nice walk through the park off of West Street and am very pleased to see that Naperville has space for many (like me) who do not have a garden of their own.
There is a sense of freedom to utilize your space and it’s a huge joy to see the areas decorated with a trellis, garden chairs, vine wraps and other pieces that make a garden complete.
Am I a bumbling person who loves stepping into a garden and getting lost in the sea of fresh plants – I’m easily going to say yes.
There is a waitlist – which is not surprising. For this season that opened it’s pearly gates May 5^th, all plots are full and you can expect to see a wide range of sprouting fresh herbs and vegetables. While I would love to see this as a full year long garden plot – seasons tend to take over.
The land is mapped out well and used to the fullest. Near the far entrance near Knoch Park there is a wall with Gardening Tips as well as information regarding certain types of plants.
As a note, I would most definitely recommend marking a spot on the waitlist for next season if you love to garden, sit out in that garden and do what it is you do in that garden.
Weed. And reap the benefits of fresh produce.
Thank you Naperville Parks for having this in our neighborhoods.