The Vegetable Garden
The Site of The Vegetable Garden
The 1,000-foot long garden terrace served as both a source of food and an experimental laboratory.
Jefferson: The Scientist & Gardener
Jefferson grew 250 varieties of more than 70 different species of vegetables, precisely recording the details of their growth.
19th-Century Vegetables & Cultivation
Jefferson employed the latest gardening practices and grew many varieties that have since become unfamiliar.
The Vegetable Garden Today
The restoration is both a snapshot of the typical garden of the day and an expression of Jefferson's ambitious planting schemes.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Monticello Vegetable Garden
A list of general facts about the Monticello Vegetable Garden.
Discussion
Monticello's restored vegetable garden is one of the most stunning parts of the plantation currently on view to visitors. It is probably more beautiful today than when it was enclosed by a tall paling (fence) during Jefferson's time. Back then, slave labor contributed to the production of vegetables for the Jefferson family's table BOTH in this substantial and impressive garden, and in the slaves' own gardens adjacent to their own houses. We know that Monticello slaves sold vegetables and other products (eggs, for example) to the Jefferson family, and was one of their main entry points into the cash economy.
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Produce from the terrace vegetable garden is occasionallly given to staff members or sold to the Cafe at Monticello. I tell you, the first time our wonderful gardeners shared some fresh carrots from the veggie garden, I felt like I met real carrots for the first time. All those strange store-bought orange sticks of my past suddenly seemed so disappointing. But the carrots from the garden--delicious!