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I decided to grow everything and in a big way! I learned what my soil grows best and what I grow best.
With grocery store prices climbing and so few regulations around how food is produced, it feels empowering to grow food for my family, and know its history.
Hearing from other gardeners, both new and experienced, has shown me that gardening is not something you have to do alone. Sharing tips, seeds, and encouragement makes the work more enjoyable and rewarding. I’ve learned that gardening can connect people, not just to their food, but to each other.
We learned of blight and beetle’s bite, Of water’s kiss and slug’s soft flight, Of dogs that roam and mold that clings, Of spacing rows and careful things.
This year I had several tomato plants that popped up, some in the holes of garden fabric I had laid out to limit weeds early in the season. No need to move those, as they were right where I needed them.
I covered my collards, broccoli and cabbage this year so worms haven’t been a problem (YES) and hopefully I can keep the vine borers out of my squash.
Every bite of our homegrown salads reminded us that perseverance pays off, not just in gardens but in life. We are still beginners, but with three generations working side by side and our fence standing firm, we are proud to say none of us gave up, and neither did our plants.
We froze much of last year’s harvest as that felt like the easiest way to get started with food preservation. This frozen bounty has allowed us to have healthy meals over the winter and while we wait for this year’s harvest.
We had a couple of raised beds last year, but had no idea what we were doing so there was no real harvest and I just assumed I wasn’t a good gardener. It turns out I just didn’t have the right tools and education I needed to have a successful garden.
Every extra waking moment I have I am in the garden, and it is time I never regret spending. I look around after a hard day of weeding and harvesting and bug identifying and I think, “I have never seen such beauty.”
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!
This is my first year in the Build It Up backyard gardening program; it also happens to be my first year gardening (fruit & veg) period. I started at absolute zero – no experience, no talent, no tools, no plan, no garden… nothing. I described my level of experience as “I was an adult when I learned that green and red bell peppers are the same plant”. Throughout my life, I had impressively managed to kill every single plant that had come into my possession. I share all of this extra context so that when I tell you that if
The curiosity has extended with pest control–our oldest now prides himself on being able to identify ALL the stages of the bad bugs. He LOVED studying Adam’ Watson’s slides during a class. He’ll tell you all about the well known “garden bag guys,” but he was curious about a new caterpillar that was munching on our dill. We now have two swallowtail chrysalis that we are patiently waiting to see emerge. The dill was saved, and he has a fun science story to tell.
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.
Through this program, I’ve learned the importance of patience and the joy of nurturing life from seed to harvest. Gardening has taught me about the intricate balance of nature, the importance of soil health, and the role of different plants in an ecosystem. Additionally, I’ve gained hands-on experience with sustainable farming practices and learning how to manage pests organically. The sense of community among fellow gardeners has also been incredibly rewarding, as we share tips, successes, and the occasional challenges. One of the most rewarding aspects has been the bonding experience with my mother-in-law. We’ve spent many days together in
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.
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.
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.
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.
So while we wait for our gardens to take off later in spring, we may as well go ahead and eat the wild and free greens that are so readily available all around us. Wild greens can be used to create vibrant salads, they can be juiced, given to chickens as a treat, or they can be used in a variety of other creative ways.
In these uncertain times, I believe the ability to grow our own food is a powerful tool for resilience—both for ourselves and those around us… Gardening is a big task, especially if you’ve never done it before. But the truth is, this program is designed for people like us — novices, dreamers, and doers who want to make a difference in their own lives and communities.
I have four kids, a four month old baby, a 3 year old girl and two boys, 5 and 8 years old. Part of my intention in joining this program was to learn enough about gardening so that we could start a successful garden this year and so the kids could feel more connected with the source of their food. I had no idea, but we got to learn so much more and became part of a supportive community that will be there long after we graduate.
Our family moved to the area about a year ago. That means we had to start our garden over from scratch. It also means we had to adjust to different types of garden bugs, both pests and beneficial bugs. Luckily, we learned about many of the local pests from one of the Build It Up workshops, and we had our Build It Up binder that contains so much useful information about identifying and controlling common garden pests. Despite having some losses due to pests, we now have a game plan for how to manage garden bugs starting in spring.
What summer vegetable tastes like no other, and is so incredibly delicious, because the real ones are grown and harvested only during the summer…the one season, out of the entire four seasons of the year, that we cannot wait until the first one ripens, and this juicy summer delicacy, finally does appear? You guessed it…Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes.
Then our hardest battle yet came with the summer heat and dry weather. We had caught hundreds of gallons of rain water to help water the garden but it wasn’t enough for how hot and dry it was this year. Luckily we learned from the class that mulch works great to help hold moisture for the plants.
I felt so good when I saw our freezer filled up with vegetables from the garden, especially during the wintertime, I appreciated every bite of the food that came from the garden. I am so proud that I can share some of my food with the neighbors and friends.
The sequencing of BIU’s workshops unrolled in a helpful way, specifically when it came to the two workshops on Pests & Diseases. Those have been immensely helpful and we contact the folks who led those workshops almost weekly for a “HELP! What’s this bug/disease? How do we fix it ASAP?” style check-in. Each workshop helped us recognize the importance of the season and what you can do with it.
We have multiple food allergies that have propelled us into eating healthy, plant-forward and organic foods. This way of eating is extremely expensive so having a garden has allowed us to save exponentially.
The most surprising thing about gardening, for me, is that it has become the place where I can get a brutal workout, have therapy, find alone time with God, spend quality time with my family, and a platform for connecting with community, whether it be over a shared meal or simply talking about growing beans. I did not expect to find such grounding in that space. The food is just an added bonus. I am convinced that gardening is sacred.
We are the proud caretakers of many small garden beds left at our house by the previous owners, which we try to do justice to. The rest of our backyard is filled by a long cedar picnic table atop a stone patio along with a littering of grills, a smoker, a pizza oven, and a big stir fry burner. All of this is to accommodate more guests for when we play host to a big dinner party, as we do a few times per year. Tying the “farm to table” rhetoric together is easy when most of the food never
Overall, gardening is a very beautiful experience. I love that this has caused me to get outside more. Also, my fear of bugs has decreased quite a bit. It was amazing to realize I can get in the garden and work next to bees and wasps without being harmed. I am more able to recognize which insects are helpers and are working in harmony with my garden. Gardening has been a great bonding moment as well. Getting to share my harvest with friends and family members, and working on the garden with my parents has been a memorable experience.
Of all the necessary components for a successful garden, the most important one can’t be bought or measured. You can’t borrow it, steal it, barter for it, or have it delivered. Yet without it, no garden would ever be planted. The most essential element every gardener must have is hope. When the gray of winter is interrupted by 4-color seed catalogs, hope spurs us to dream of golden sunny days filled with juicy red tomatoes and crisp green lettuce. Hope spurs us to grab a hoe and a pair of gloves and work up the first sweat of spring.
Through this program, I’ve learned the importance of patience and the joy of nurturing life from seed to harvest. Gardening has taught me about the intricate balance of nature, the importance of soil health, and the role of different plants in an ecosystem. Additionally, I’ve gained hands-on experience with sustainable farming practices and learning how to manage pests organically. The sense of community among fellow gardeners has also been incredibly rewarding, as we share tips, successes, and the occasional challenges. One of the most rewarding aspects has been the bonding experience with my mother-in-law. We’ve spent many days together in
In addition to setting up an irrigation system for the first time, I am also learning to can this year. A friend came over to help me with the first round of canning. The shelves are gradually filling up as I practice this new found skill.
This program taught us the importance of intentionality. These days our gardening looks much different. Our days are filled with our youngest son picking tomatoes off the vine. Our middle son in the kitchen frying up okra or cutting up vegetables from the garden for his salad with his dad. Our oldest cramming cucumbers in jars so he can make pickles. We are so thankful for this program for not only teaching us how to grow more food but also for instilling a love of gardening in our kids and helping us find something to bring us all together. I
Our family has started this adventure as an opportunity for our oldest to grow his interest in and knowledge about gardening. The greatest thing is that we can do this together and learn together. He has really done a great job with caring for the garden, even the hard parts. We love having healthy food available and learning to be more self-sustaining with our food sources. It’s great to know where your food has come from! We have also been able to share and trade items with neighbors and friends which has extended our access to our favorite garden goodies
Just as Frankenstein was put together with many different parts, so was my garden. It was an everchanging project that evolved from one row of plants to now 10 rows of a variety of companion plants, a small corn field with a perimeter of pole beans and two sets of mounds for melons and squashes. There is a staging area for my tools and supplies and the garden is surrounded by some naturally grown flowering plants like clover and chicory to attract the pollinators. I have used mainly things on my farm like used stakes, old wooden produce boxes, tobacco
At first, I thought it would make for a healthy hobby, but these days, I think it’s become more of an obsession. The more I learn, the more I want to learn. The cycle has snowballed and created a dirt-covered monster. Seriously, my nails are stained green. We started small, planning to slowly build each year until we have a micro-farm that will sustain us and hopefully begin providing fresh, local ingredients for our area as well.
I had no expectations for my first garden but I am so proud and filled with gratitude at the quality and quantity that is growing. (Who knew that butternut squash was soooo adorable!) I am already planning for my summer garden next year! Now on to my next challenge, learning how to preserve all of this produce…
