Build It Up Blog
The Build It Up Blog includes entries from our gardners discussing their gardening journey and guides from our program staff regarding when to start your seeds, when to put transplants in the ground, when to fertilize, and more!
Sue Brown: A Gardener’s Story
It taught me better methods than what I was using to control pests and disease organically, and boy they made all the difference in the world – I can barely keep up with my cucumber harvest! It helped me develop habits in the garden by starting a journal, which keeps me on track for managing what I need to do and when to do it.
Sarah Mast Ragland: A Gardener’s Story
One of the biggest things we’ve realized is that you don’t need a big backyard to grow a lot of food. Our yard is under 1/6 of an acre, but last year we managed to grow almost 200 pounds of food! With the help of the seeds, plants, tools, and workshops provided through the program, we’ve been able to get creative with our space and make every square foot count.
Maddison West: A Gardener’s Story
What once felt intimidating now feels exciting and playful. Instead of worrying about doing things “wrong,” we’ve gained the knowledge and confidence to simply enjoy the process — and that’s been such a beautiful message to share with our three young boys.
Erin Jasenak: A Gardener’s Story
A great thing about this program is that another family in our neighborhood is doing it too. We talk about our gardens and share our experiences. It helps to know someone else is going through the same challenges, especially with stubborn grass and daily maintenance.
Lucinda Bowman: Gardener’s Story
Through the Build it up program I have been given a gift to learn the things about gardening that I didn’t when I was growing up. I chose to garden in raised beds for my first year. I built 4-4×8 raised beds out of rough sawn lumber and a herb spiral out of bricks.
Ante Ursic: A Gardener’s Story
My five-year-old helped set up the garden, putting the seeds and seedlings into the earth, giving him an appreciation of the food we eat and excitement to see the things grow and develop.
McKenzie Templeton: Gardener’s Story
We love learning about ways we can be more self-sufficient, eat cleaner, and look forward to instilling these same beliefs in our children one day. I didn’t realize how easy it was to grow things without using any unnecessary chemicals or pesticides. I didn’t realize how little space I needed – or how little knowledge I needed to get started.
Xinyi Chen Lin: A Gardener’s Story
We’re now focusing on more pest-resilient crops like peppers, okra, tomatoes, onions, leeks, and plenty of culinary and medicinal herbs. We also planted eggplants, though flea beetles have already taken a toll—hopefully, the organic pesticide from the program helps them bounce back. Eggplants are especially valuable in our keto diet as excellent fat sponges.
Katie Williamson: Gardener’s Story
My garden is 30 feet by 60 feet and is situated on the only really flat part of my mountain property. I opted to till once because the rocky clay soil was so compacted. I then applied a layer of woodchips, leaves and compost and let that sit for a while.