Supporting community and school gardens in Vermont.
I’m Sharon Newman, Garden Coordinator for Chittenden County affordable housing, a partnership between VGN and Champlain Housing Trust (CHT). One site I have spent a lot of time at this season is Beacon, permanent housing for homeless residents, located in South Burlington. Back in March, as I did my pre-season check in, I noticed that the winter […]
By Gordon Clark, Coordinator, Vermont Victory Gardens Inspired by a Hunger Council meeting early in 2019, some residents in the Village of Barton, Vermont, close to the Canadian border in Orleans County, decided to build a few raised beds for local residents in need. There were no takers. Issues of time, experience, skills and tools […]
A conversation with Mindy Blank, Executive Director, Community Resilience Organizations This actually gives me a lot of hope for the future because agriculture is something that can realistically be regenerative—obviously, it will take a lot of work for regenerative agriculture to become a common practice, but it can be done. Regeneration Corps participant from Sharon […]
Community gardens partnering with food shelves to determine what to grow and how to donate it is an essential step in getting fresh food to those who need it. In the Northeast Kingdom and the Mad River Valley, two food shelves are flipping that narrative by reaching out to their local communities to see what […]
The UVM Extension Community Horticulture Program (Master Gardener & Composter) trains volunteers and uses research-based gardening information to help all Vermonters improve their gardening, leadership and environmental stewardship skills. How the program works: After completing a 16-week online course, trainees become volunteer Interns. To transition from an Intern to a Certified Master Gardener (EMG), trainees […]
Stamford VT Seed Savers – Stamford, VT Helen Fields and her husband, Stephen Greene, are both long-time advocates and organizers for bringing gardens and garden-based education into the communities where they live and work. The couple’s most recent project is the Stamford VT Seed Savers, a local garden education program, growing and seed saving at […]
Malletts Bay Congregational Church – Colchester, VT Dan Dougherty had been trying to get his church to start a community garden on excess land the church owns for years, but unsuccessfully. “I had seen an article in Seven Days about Victory Gardens and it was like BAM! Most of our congregation will be able to […]
Many people turned to gardening this season as a simple act of hope–to plant a seed is to bring life. Others sought out a new hobby to combat the idleness of this “pause” and commune in the great outdoors. And many more saw the potential of gardens to address freshly exposed realities, long-lived and new, […]
We are pleased to announce a new collaboration with New Farms for New Americans! Improving Lands, Improving Lives is a 3-year project to enhance and facilitate a comprehensive agriculture program on food systems, nutrition and a first-ever leadership and mentorship training program for new American farmers. VCGN will work with NFNA and farmers enrolled in their program […]
Temps are low and mountains are covered in snow! ❄️ For many of us gardeners, winter is a time for rest, reflection, and for planning the season ahead. Any growth at this time of year is usually from within ourselves - unless one partakes in growing microgreens! 🌱 Whether you have a full grow light setup in your basement or an empty window sill, growing some nutritious microgreens right in your home is simple, financially viable, and adds some much needed vibrancy.
Follow the link in our bio to learn more!
The Sowing Seeds Internship is an opportunity for hands-on learning to support food access and garden education at the Vermont Garden Network. The internship will offer a unique opportunity to experience and support a handful of programs through administrative support and field work during a time of year when we are gearing up for the growing season ahead. The ideal candidate will skillfully assist with office-related tasks in late winter, then seamlessly transition to physical garden work in early spring, and joyfully wrap up the internship during peak planting time in late spring. Independent work and community-based work are both part of this internship.
January 22 to May 31 // 8 hrs per week
Link in bio with the full internship description!
We are excited to share transitions and transformations happening at our mighty organization!
After six years at the helm, our fearless leader, Michelle Gates, will be moving on to pursue new opportunities in the field of nonprofit education. This bittersweet moment is a time to reflect on and appreciate the tremendous amount of work Michelle has done for VGN, garden education and advocacy, and statewide food access, food justice and food security, nutrition, and wellness. No words can fully express the deep gratitude we all feel for the leadership, expertise, dedication, and thoughtfulness that Michelle brought to VGN.
This fall marks a time for great transformation at VGN. As Michelle transitions to a new role, our team is moving towards a shared leadership model as we introduce two Co-Executive Directors – a Director of Programs & Partnerships and a Director of Philanthropy & Communications. We are thrilled to announce that Carolina Lukac, VGN’s Garden Education Manager of 8 years, is bringing her wealth of knowledge and experience into the role of Director of Programs & Partnerships! Carolina’s vision for this work, her ability to make thoughtful and intentional connections with both individuals and groups in this space, and her dedication to garden education and access will propel VGN towards more positive growth.
Thank you for your critical support of the Vermont Garden Network. We are nothing without our network of gardeners, funders, partners and supporters, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate on the many exciting things our future has in store. The Board of Directors and Staff are leading a search for the position of Co-Executive Director, Director of Philanthropy & Communications. Please see the job posting in our bio and share with your networks to help us find the perfect fit for our organization.
Students of our 6 month long, Thriving gardens course, have officially completed 24 weeks of hands on learning and gardening! We finished the course with a sweet potato harvest 🍠 and garlic planting 🧄. The garlic that`s been planted this October will be harvested and enjoyed by next year`s class : )
For graduation we shared a potluck, thoughtful class reflections and many hugs. Everyone enjoyed their gifts of lemon balm glycerate, marshmallow root for tea and seeds for next year`s gardens 🌞
A lot happens in six months time from moving, marriage, engagements, new jobs, and babies being born ! This year we experienced it all, each of us growing alongside each other and the plants we were tending to with love & care🌱
VGN is seeking a Co-Executive Director of Philanthropy & Communications
The Co-Executive Director of Philanthropy & Communications is part of a shared leadership structure that governs the operations and program delivery of the Vermont Garden Network. This position reports to the Board or Directors and collaborates with the Co-Executive Director of Programs & Partnerships to educate, support and connect gardeners across the state of Vermont.
View the job description and how to apply at the link in our bio!
Today`s garlic planting at Seedsong is a symbol of our hopes and dreams for the season ahead. Because this growing season was rough. We worked hard, we laughed, we cried, and still, we continued on as a gardening collective. We invite you to scroll through photos that will take you on the journey of our growing season, highlighting memorable moments and sharing a glimpse into one of VGN`s garden education programs where growing food has grown a tight knit community of gardeners. Captions for each photo are included below, and continue in the comments.
April: One of our goals is to extend the season as long as possible with the minimal infrastructure we have in a small-scale market garden. Overwintering spinach, mache and claytonia allows us to offer garden members harvest in early Spring.
April: We finally got our hands on a tilther to try out user-friendly machinery for low-till market gardening. Our friends at the @intervalecenter lent us their tilther to make the most beautiful, evenly amended, smooth, perfectly sized market garden beds.
May: Every year we dedicate funds and extra effort to a garden improvement project. This year we installed a metal fence to prevent deer from devouring our crops. The timeless saying "many hands make light work" guides our collective organizing and we are immensely grateful for the many hands that helped us put up the fence.
May: Among the 19 garden members of Seedsong, we likely have over 100 photos of beautiful harvest! Here is one of our early season delights: overwintered spinach and purple asparagus spears. Our work-trade agreement with members is that everyone works a 2hr weekly shift in the garden in exchange for whatever is harvestable at the moment.
(continued in comments)
Fall garden cleanup is upon us! Here is Jade, this year`s intern for our Thriving Gardens Course, carrying absolute massive sunflowers to the compost! 🌻
What are some of your favorite "putting your garden to bed" tasks?? Let us know in the comments section ⬇️
Our cover crop at Seedsong is coming in nicely! This peas & oats blend will help restore the soil`s structure and fertility after July`s flood 🌱the peas will fix nitrogen from the atmosphere into a plant available form and the oats will hold onto the N for future use. Both are considered "winter kill" meaning they will die back with the first hard freeze, acting as a nutrient dense mulch to keep your beds covered all winter.
If you have questions about using cover crop at the garden scale, please reach out to us any time!
In the spirit of #throwbackthursday we are going to highlight a favorite partner of ours…LEAP (Learn, Earn, and Prosper), a program of RESOURCE.
This past June & July we had the pleasure of welcoming students from this year`s LEAP program to the Thriving Gardens Course teaching garden. LEAP provides pre-employment transitional services to youth and young adults who are blind or visually impaired.
June & July is a busy time in any garden and we are so grateful that LEAP students were able to help us keep our gardens in check. This year`s students have helped with many projects at the garden such as weeding & mulching our communal beds and perennial berries. They also cleaned greenhouse trays to help prevent the spread of disease, made buttons out of old seed catalogs, potted up flower bulbs, and planted a second succession of napa cabbage.
We can`t wait for next year’s group!
Registration for a visit from our Veducation Van is now open for the 2024 season! The Veducation Van has been rolling all over Vermont, delivering workshops in every single VT county! Gardeners have been learning with us about Integrated Pest Management, composting, nutrition, growing microgreens throughout the winter, and various other aspects of gardening.
Interested in scheduling a visit? If you think your community could benefit from a visit, sign up at the link in our bio or visit our website.
Join us - tomorrow! - to learn about lactofermentation and preserve cabbage for fall.
RSVP to reserve your cabbage!
Link in bio.
Members of our collective garden, Seedsong, are now spending every Tuesday evening at the market garden @shelburnefarms gardening in exchange for veggies, and having a great time doing it ☀️
Read more about this incredible collaboration and testimonies from Seedsongers at the link in our bio
🥬🍆🥦🍅🥒🌽🫑🥕
Sweet, sweet August. The month of abundance. We love you. 💛☀️🙌
For the gardens that made it through the flood and are persevering through the rain, pest, and disease...August is living up to its name! Swipe through for some seriously big smiles and the most colorful veggies grown and tended to by our Thriving Gardens Course students 🍅
Attention all gardeners, you are cordially invited to VGN’s 2nd Annual Garden Celebration @stowecider – Saturday, August 26 from 4:30-7pm !
Join us as we celebrate another season of growing food in Vermont and enjoy live music and family friendly activities.
🌽 Join the cornhole tournament with fun prizes for all ages.
🍅 Make fun veggie block prints and buttons!
🐛 Check out plants and bugs up close under our microscope.
🧺 Bid on a themed gift baskets or locally crafted treasures at the silent auction (all proceeds will support the Veducator Van – our new mobile classroom)
🍏 And taste Stowe Cider’s delicious cider and food from their new kitchen!
The event is free and open to all. See you there : )
Hi all, it has been a little over a month since the devastating July flood. As VT`s garden network, we want to help gardeners across the state recover from the aftermath of this destruction. To do this, we need to hear from you. Do you need more advice/guidance, cover crop seed, access to fresh food, financial support? Please take 5 minutes to answer the survey in our bio, and share it with other gardeners and garden groups you know of. Your responses to this survey will guide our next actions. Thank you.
Our Veducation Van will be at the @the.one.ramble this Saturday ! We`re bringing our button maker to make buttons with photos from old seed catalogs, veggie block prints, and a microscope to check out garden goods up close. Great activities for everyone!
Find us at the ONE Community Center parking lot where the "Round Up" event at 5pm!
Join us for a statewide conversation to share our experiences, to grieve the loss of our gardens collectively, and to learn about the safety of consuming produce and replanting after a flood.
The Q & A session will take place on Zoom. If you are interested in attending the conversation, save the date for Wednesday, July 26 from 12:30-1:30pm.
Registration link is in our bio.
Today we walked through the Seedsong Collective Garden to assess the damage and begin the process of figuring out what to do next. This assessment along with resources from UVM extension and others across the country will help us determine how we move forward. We will keep everyone up to date on our process.
In the meantime, if you are a gardener and your garden has been affected by the flood please refer to our flood resources page (link in our bio) and/or reach out to us with any questions or concerns you may have about how to move forward.
In solidarity 🌱💚🌞
Our beloved collective garden was inundated with flood water from the Winooski river along with our fellow farmers and community gardeners who grow food at the Intervale.
We were able to get out on the water yesterday to see the damage firsthand and, it is truly devastating.
Seedsong collective garden is tended collectively by 20 gardeners, some who`ve taken our Thriving Gardens Course and become mentors and some who are new to growing their own food. Together they`ve planned, planted, tended, harvested, re planted and processed vegetables that have sustained them over the Spring and Summer months. And now, all that work is under contaminated water 😔
We are not 100% sure where to go from here or what is possible moving forward. We did compile helpful resources on what to do with crops after a flood (access at the link in our bio) and continue to water our greenhouse plants of hope. All that we can do now is wait for the water to drain, soil to dry, and for soil tests results to come in. This will help infer what`s possible.
Our hearts ache for our plant, insect, animal, and grower friends but we will move through this! In solidarity 💚
@new_farms_for_new_americans
@btvparks community gardens
@intervalecenter
@intervalecommunityfarm
@pitchforkfarm
@junefarm_
@diggersmirthcollectivefarm
@sugarsnapvt
Today marked the start of a new adventure ! We started our own seeds to supply our programming with a bountiful fall harvest. Thank you @new_farms_for_new_americans for lending us the space in your greenhouse so we can begin this seed starting journey.
This will be a pilot year for our upcoming community greenhouse project; stay tuned for more details. And if you become a member today you will be directly supporting the internal build of the greenhouse! To become a member sign up at the link in the bio 🌱
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