Garden Sprouts Educational Program (For ages 3-6)
Root to Rise Garden & Volunteer Program

Touring the Farm

We offer tours at both farms. Our Vienna location, four miles west of Tyson Corner on Rte. 7, is the business hub of the farm, a compact set of fields, patches and farm buildings. Our Wheatland location is much larger, with rolling hills and the foothills of the Shenandoah mountains in the distance. Here are our main fields in vegetable production and our large-scale composting site. 

Some of the topics we cover include:

• Principles and practices of sustainable agriculture (with examples of composting, mulching, cover cropping, crop rotation and other techniques)
• The history of the farm—how did two young college grads with four children decide to start farming here 55 years ago?
• Local, just, and environmentally sound food systems
• The importance and challenges of growing food locally and on a small scale.  

Scheduled Tours for Individuals, Families and Friends

During the season we offer monthly tours at the two farms for people interested in sustainable agriculture, farming on a moderate scale, and the business of vegetable production. Tours will be limited to 12 people.

Farm tours will take place on the third Saturday of the month from April through June, and will resume in the Fall. In the Spring they will take place on April 19, May 17, and June 21. The Vienna tour starts at 10 AM. The Wheatland tour begins at 3 PM.

Tours will last about 1.5 hours. Cost: $20/person (but no more than $50 for a family). CSA members are welcome without cost as part of their CSA membership. Participants will receive a complementary sample of PVF produce.

Registration: Participants will register their interest and pre-pay the tour fee by contacting Becky. CSA members should register as well, although the fee will be waived.

If you have questions about these tours please email Becky. We will strive to get back to you shortly.

School Tours

We have been hosting school tours at our Vienna farm for decades. Children who first came to the farm on a school tour are now accompanying tours with children of their own.   

Children walk the fields as a farmer/guide, working with the class teacher, helps them experience the tastes, smells and feel of familiar foods in their natural settings. They learn how autumn on the farm differs from spring. They are introduced to the foundations of sustainable agriculture. We talk about the life cycle of a plant from seed to seed, and the use of all five senses in appreciating vegetables.

Historically, we hosted school tours in the fall, although recently we have begun hosting them in the spring as well. We offer a discount to schools scheduling tours of the farm in different seasons. We reserve weekday mornings in September and October for school tours. 

We continue to charge $5 per person (children and parents–$70 minimum) for school tours. Teachers are welcome without charge. We can accommodate individual classes (up to 20) and divide larger groups into sections. We ask schools to help minimize the number of vehicles making the trip because parking is limited. Children will take home a seasonal souvenir.  

To schedule a school tour please write to Becky. In your message let us know three dates you would like to schedule a tour. You may rank them. Please indicate how many people you expect to come (children, teachers, parents). We will respond as soon as possible on a first come/first served basis. 

Other Group Tours

Over the years we have conducted tours for visitors and delegations from many other countries, high school science classes, Girl Scout troops, home school families, and families looking for an interesting outdoor activity, among others.

This year we will again offer custom tours for groups focused on how we grow vegetables using sustainable farming practices in harmony with the environment.   We particularly welcome high school students and other young adults who may be interested in sustainable agriculture and the potential role of small farms in climate policy.    

The cost of these tours, like our school tours, is $5 per person, with a minimum of $70. Babes in arms and in backpacks are free. If you would like to focus on a particular topic or customize your tour please let us know of your interests.   

Here are some related educational resources you might be interested in before or after you come out to visit the farm.

Please email Becky if you would like to schedule a tour or have any questions.  

Garden Sprouts Educational Program!

Sign up for Garden Sprouts! Potomac Vegetable Farm’s outdoor educational garden program for pre-school aged and young children. Only at our Purcellville/Hillsboro location.

We invite your child to grow with wonder in our 100% outdoor, nature and play-based educational learning program for children 3-6 years old. We nurture the whole child and value curiosity, imagination, creative arts, nature, diversity and play.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays 8:30-3:00 during the spring, summer, and hopefully fall of 2025.

Please reach out to gardensprouts101@gmail.com with any questions.

Learn more about Garden Sprouts here! Apply here if you are interested.

Our Garden Sprouts’ ‘classroom’ is situated inside of the magical Root to Rise garden.

The Root to Rise Garden & Volunteer Program!

This 1/2 acre educational garden has grown to become a beloved gathering space for community. It is the face of PVF as it is at the entrance to our Purcellville Farm Stand and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) pick-up. It is collectively stewarded and managed by 8-10 members who make up our Garden Council and who tend, maintain and make decisions about the use of the space. We are fortunate to have such a robust breadth of experience within the individuals who serve on the Garden Council working professionally as outdoor educators, sustainable vegetable farmers, natural builders, herbalists, professional facilitators and more. The garden is partnered with Wild Potomac, a local non profit that is helps restore health to the Potomac Watershed. Wild Potomac had helped the garden plant a mini forest this past year as part of the garden’s longer term perennial conversion plan. In the garden there are hundreds of species of plants including medicinal herbs, native pollinators, perennial fruit trees, bushes, berries and shrubs, flowers, annual vegetables, dye crops, grain crops, cover crops and ornamentals. The garden is a space where children learn about soil and food and play in the garden while it is also a place where people of all ages come to gather, or come for respite. Inside the garden is a covered outdoor kitchen and community gathering space with a cob pizza oven, a playground for children, a living dome shaped ‘classroom’ covered in vines and an amphitheater garden stage. Multiple community events and educational programming is hosted in the garden, please reach out if to the email below if you would like to host an educational program, event or gathering.

Join our Root to Rise garden volunteer exchange program at the Root to Rise Community Education Garden is located only at our Purcellville Location. The garden exchange program values skilled or unskilled volunteer hours and help tending the garden in exchange for informal garden lesson, starts in the springs, cuttings, produce, herbs, flowers and seeds spread out throughout the season from the garden. We start in April and end in November. It is fun, relaxed, family friendly and community building. To join us, please sign up on eventbrite for our monthly work days with a potluck lunch. Email root2risegarden@gmail.com to learn more, or if you have any questions. Scroll down to see pictures of the garden!

When we were building the base and foundation for what is now our cob pizza oven!

Growing gourds for crafting!

A peer lead summer series workshop about our local geography hosted at the Root to Rise garden’s outdoor kitchen and gathering space!