The aim of the present work is the assessment of the concentration, toxicity and phytoavailability of heavy metals in garden soils in the vicinity of three mines (A, B and C) in South of Morocco by using concurrently selective chemical extractions, MetPLATE (TM) a toxicity bioassay and plant growth experiments. The tailings materials containing very high concentrations of Mn, Cu and Co in mine A, Co, Mn, Cr and Ni in mine B and Cu and Zn in mine C. The high toxicity of tailings from mine C (86.7% inhibition) and moderate toxicity of tailings from mine B (51.0% inhibition) were mainly due to the relative high concentrations of soluble Cu and Zn. Nevertheless, the low metal toxicity observed in most garden soils was confirmed by the low metal concentrations in the soil water extracts. In all garden soils, Lactuca sativa L. and Lolium multiflorum L. contained in their shoots Cd, Co, Cr, Cu and Ni below toxic concentrations while Zn (in all soils) and Mn in two soils from mine A were accumulated at concentrations high enough to be considered phytotoxic. The low biomass produced on garden soils in the vicinity of mines B and C is explained by the relative low toxicity compared to mine A. Transfer factor values for Zn were higher than those found for Mn for both plant species, confirming that this element is present at lower bioavailable fraction in soil than Zn. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.