The Glorious Dirt Trench of the Kilbourn Park Plant Sale

I moved into this house in 2016, and in 2017 I found myself with a raised bed in full sun, some really good soil, and a desire to grow food for my chosen family.

Fortunately, there is no shortage of plants in Chicago, and growing is easy during the summer. You plant from late April to early May; you harvest from approximately August to October; the frost brings winter. Grow whenever there is not frost, nor the possibility of frost. That’s it.

Unfortunately, not all seedlings are made the same, and I am lousy at growing from seed. So dimwits like myself must find the connections. I now have a tomato guy, shocking nobody. For everything else, there is the Kilbourn Park Plant Sale.

Kilbourn Park is a narrow, long park that flanks the Metra tracks, and it has only two defining features: a post-fire fieldhouse, and a year-round greenhouse. In order to fundraise for the greenhouse’s educational programs, and in order to serve our community, thousands of seedlings are grown & sold every year through the Chicago Park District. A battalion of volunteers and Chicago Park District employees work hard through the whole spring to make some truly incredible plants. They grow massively and share abundantly. Regardless of species, everything is $3 a pop. For the whole northwest side, the Kilbourn Park Plant Sale is the gardening event of the year. Kilbourn Park plants are the worst-kept secret in all of Chicago horticulture.