Marra Farm Community Garden

On one of our long rambles in South Park, Seattle with Mako, we passed through Marra Farm, a four-acre farm parcel that is part of Marra-Desimone Park. The original Marra Farm was operated as a truck farm by the Italian-American Marra family from the early 1900s to the 1970s, and was then sold to King County.

Marra Farm community garden in South Park, Seattle

In 1997 several citizens and nonprofit organizations restored part of the farm, and today it operates as a community garden, growing more than 13,000 pounds of organic produce a year. Seattle residents can sign up for a P-Patch lot, and are added to the waiting list.

Healthy kale and greens at Marra Farm

Greenhouse structures at Marra Farm

We walked through the raised garden beds and green houses. It was December, cold, and raining, but the kale looked fantastic! The large chicken coop was stocked with many species of chickens.

Chicken coop at Marra Farm

Another restoration project is underway nearby – Hamm Creek, a tributary of the lower Duwamish River which empties into Elliott Bay. According to Habitat Restoration along the Lower Duwamish Waterway, the restoration at Hamm Creek provides a “fish-passable” connection to the Duwamish river, enabling salmonid spawning in Hamm Creek.

Hamm Creek habitat restoration