Sowing Seed Libraries Into Our Community Fabric

We’ve all seen the role that gardens have played over these past two seasons–lifting us up in the midst of the chaos and uncertainty of a global pandemic, a changing climate, and a time of great social upheaval. And central to that story is the seed. Seeds–these tiny kernels of life–bring forth abundance in a […]

Community Garden Irrigation

Water is always at the top of a gardener’s list of concerns, but with drought and heat unusual to Vermont’s gardening season the question of how to get enough water to thirsty plants has been particularly salient. Old systems that gardens put up with in milder years are no longer cutting it. Community gardeners have […]

Giving Gardens: How to Recruit & Retain Volunteers

by Gordon Clark, Coordinator, Vermont Victory Gardens We know as individual gardeners how hard it can be to find time to tend our garden plots. What does it take to get people to give their time to tend giving gardens – where they are growing food for someone else, specifically people in need? I asked […]

School Gardens in the Summer

“What happens to all these lovely school gardens in the most bountiful months of the summer, when school is out and there is no one to tend them?” Kathleen Kesson poses this often-asked question in an excellent article found in Seven Days Kids. Experience tells us that the answer boils down to two areas: 1) […]

Honoring Seeds & Their Stories

Seed swapping has long served as a way to not only gather the seeds you need for the coming season, but more significantly as a way to share and preserve culture. When we share and plant each other’s seeds we honor the food and the grower and bring their stories to life. Even in these […]

Toolshed Tips: Bringing Your Classroom Outdoors

This challenging return to the school year brings inevitable worries for everyone involved–students, parents, teachers, administrators. In the world of outdoor education and garden learning we see an incredible opportunity to bring learning outside not only to address social distancing, but also give students the rich experience of learning from the outdoor world. However, to […]

Toolshed Tips: Support Your Resolutions–Garden at Work!

This is the time of year for recommitting to health goals, making new habits, and embarking on new endeavors to raise the quality of our lives and the lives of our neighbors. As we work to keep our resolutions, it behooves us to ask ourselves: What tools can help us meet your our goals? Maybe […]

Toolshed Tips: Late Season Garden Connections

If you are steeped in the world of gardening you know that the needs and benefits of our gardens continue well beyond the heat of the summer months. Therefore it is our job to spread the good news that–it’s not over yet! Not only are there still plenty of tasks to complete, but also loads […]

Toolshed Tips: All About Signs!

All About Signs! By Libby Weiland, Statewide Network Coordinator Presenting…the long awaited Toolshed Tips…(wait for it)…on GARDEN SIGNAGE! Okay, you may be rolling your eyes right now or perhaps you’re just as excited as I am, but either way I think you’ll find something useful in this month’s tips and accompanying garden signage examples. Why […]

Toolshed Tips: Building Accessible Gardens

Building Accessible Gardens By Libby Weiland, Statewide Network Coordinator It’s time to spruce up your garden—assess the damage of the winter on beds, pathways and other garden infrastructure, and get things in good shape for the growing season! As you’re replacing beds and re-establishing pathways, this is an excellent time to ask yourselves: “Is our […]

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