Beginning Farmer Support

Offering workshops, mentoring, and support for beginning farmers across northeast Tennessee

The Quilt Trail

A folkart movement across America, to tell the story of place and community and promote local farm businesses

Sowing Seeds of Success

“Sowing seed, helping feed, inspiring youth to take the lead” with Build It Up through weekly after school programming for little kids and capacity building and teen employment at local high schools

Land and Water Conservation

Helping farmers and families conserve working lands and waterways for the benefit of future generations

Gardener Story: Cindy Armstrong

I come from a long line of brown thumbs, so when I heard about this program to help beginner gardeners, I was quite excited to apply for a chance to learn. I was chosen to be one of the few who would participate in the Build It Up program and I am grateful. My yard,...

Gardener Story: The Kopp Family

Gardener Story: The Kopp Family

From it's HUMBLE beginnings to its BOUNTIFUL state, our family garden has been a source of joy, learning, and blessing for us all.  Our family has always had something growing in a pot or two wherever we've lived...an we've lived in many states. When we relocated here...

Gardener Story: George and Cathy Carey

Gardener Story: George and Cathy Carey

      My wife Cathy and I are in the middle of our second year with the Build it Up garden program. The program was highly recommended to us by some friends who had participated in the past. We were not disappointed. We had been wanting to have a productive...

Gardener Story: Hannah Kiger

This is our second year in the Build It Up program. Last year, my husband and I focused on expanding our number of raised beds. But this year, bolstered by all we learned last year, we decided to be more ambitious and try some new things. We tilled an in-ground bed...

Shauna Donovan

The 2022 growing season has brought with it all kinds of exciting new adventures! Initially when I heard about BIU, I thought, “I’m not a new gardener so I don’t know that I would benefit from this all that much.” Boy, was I ever wrong! I have been gardening for about...

Gardener Story: Heather Buntich

As I googled what to do with unripe butternut, I silently cursed the squash bugs who had invaded and murdered my beautiful vines. I have 23 unripe squash lying in what now seems to be their grassy grave. Frustrated with the waste of it all, I perked up when I found...