Farm Tours
Garden Sprouts Educational Program (For ages 3-5)
Volunteer Garden Exchange Program

Touring the Farm

School Tours
We have been hosting school tours at our Vienna farm for decades. The children of children who first came to the farm on a school tour are now coming on 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 differs from spring on the farm. They are introduced to the foundations of sustainable agriculture practices.  

Traditionally, children visit the farms on school tours, which mostly take place in the fall. We reserve weekday mornings in September and October for school tours.

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

Signing Up for School Tours
If you are interested in scheduling a tour please write to Becky.  In your message please let us know three dates you would like to schedule a tour.  You may rank them. Please indicate approximately how many people you expect to come (children, teachers, parents).  We will respond as soon as possible on a first come/first served basis. 

Farm Tours for Youth, Adults, and Mixed Aged Groups
This year we again will host farm tours offering a close look at how we grow vegetables using sustainable farming practices in harmony with the environment.  We offer trips to mixed groups of adults and children, and trips solely for adult groups as well. This tour is led by a seasoned guide who knows our farm and farm history. 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.  

These walking tours last about one hour.  By special arrangement they can be longer and cover more subjects in depth.  

Some of the topics we may cover include:

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

The cost of a farm field trip 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.   

We Farm And Offer Tours at Two Locations

Vienna
Our Vienna location is the business hub of the farm, a compact set of fields, patches and farm buildings. Our walk includes a visit to the hen house. Hiu Newcomb, an owner and co-founder of the farm, is available by special request to lead trips in Vienna. The cost of her trips is $100. You can learn more about Hiu on our website.

Purcellville
Our Purcellville location is much larger, with rolling hills and the foothills of the Shenandoah Mountains in the distance. Here groups will tour the  educational  garden as well as the main fields in vegetable production and our large scale composting site. There are no animals at Purcellville.  

Here are some related educational resources if you would like to peruse them before or after you come out to visit the farm.

Please email Becky@PotomacVegetableFarms.com 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 3-5 years old. We nurture the whole child and value curiosity, imagination, creative arts, nature, diversity and play.

Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays 8:30-3:00. April-November.

Please reach out to gardensprouts101@gmail.com with any questions or to apply for a scholarship.

Learn more about Garden Sprouts here and apply here if you are interested.

Our garden sprouts ‘classroom’ situation inside of the magical Root to Rise garden.

Join our Volunteer Garden Exchange Program!

Join our volunteer garden exchange program this season at the Root to Rise Community Education Garden at our Purcellville Location. In exchange for helping out one evening a week for a couple hours, garden exchange volunteers will receive an informal brief garden lesson, starts in the springs, cuttings, produce, herbs, flowers and seeds spread out throughout the season from the educational garden. We start in April and end in November. It is a fun, relaxed, family friendly, community building evening each week. To join us, fill out this form. Email root2risegarden@gmail.com with any questions or for more information.