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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In the raised beds out back, we have two kinds of potatoes, basil, rosemary, tomatoes, sage, and bush beans. I’m trying to do more companion gardening this time around to hopefully limit the amount of “bad” pests and bring about the good ones that will for sure help our garden grow!
This whole experience has been life changing as it has truly brought our family closer together.
This year, I’m excited to focus on growing more pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and corn. Last year’s harvest was incredible! There’s something so rewarding about having an abundance of food to share with neighbors and friends. I’m particularly proud of still having frozen bell and sweet peppers in my freezer.
The Build It Up program came at the perfect time for me and my family. Equipped with new information and resources, we made our first garden plan. The program helped us create and maintain a planting schedule, and an ambitious garden layout. Factoring in watering needs, sun orientation, and soil conditions, we started to really learn more about our land. And though it required a lot of hard, consistent work, we have been rewarded each day with progress.
Each workshop begins with an invitation to connect with someone you do not yet know. We are asked to spend a few minutes learning about their experiences, challenges, and goals. These simple conversations feel like planting seeds of friendship and collaboration. They remind me that growing food and growing community are not separate things. They are the same practice.