Supporting community and school gardens in Vermont.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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) […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 🌱
Become a member and join us for our first (of three) virtual gatherings of the season on July 11 from 5-6:30. In general, these are intended to be casual with a focus on connecting to one another. In this first gathering you will have a chance to ask Charlie all of your most pressing garden questions🌱
Register at the link in our bio.
And in honor of Juneteenth and to the effort of deconstructing the systems of racism this country was built upon...BIPOC members can join for free!
WE`RE HIRING! 📢 ✨Join Audrey (pictured here) and our other Regional Garden Coordinators to deliver workshops, plants, seeds and general guidance to housing site gardens throughout the state!
We are hiring a garden coordinator for Addison County. The position is part-time, seasonal (ASAP-October) , and a lot of fun! Follow the link in our bio to learn more and apply 🌱
We are trialing a few bean varieties at the demonstration farm plot we manage in partnership with @new_farms_for_new_americans
Some of our favorite seed companies are represented here - @seedkeeping @ujamaafarms @highmowingorganicseeds
Two varieties are from the small seed library we started with NFNA farmers. We think Dhan’s seeds are a cowpea-type bean. And the green color of Rukiya’s beans takes our breath away!
Our hope is to demonstrate techniques for managing Mexican bean beetle and leaf hopper infestations, identify seed varieties that NFNA farmers want to grow more of, and demonstrate best practices for seed storage over the winter. Stay tuned for more updates on the beautiful world of growing dry beans seeds!
This is what Year 3 of our partnership with @new_farms_for_new_americans is currently looking like. ➡️ to see a couple more photos!
We are working on the drip irrigation at the demonstration farm plot.
Soon we’ll be transplanting all these lovely culturally meaningful plants generously started and donated by @redwagonplants
And the team of women at the farm! Mon, Maya, Fatuma and Hadija are Farm Leaders this season. They are our community liaisons, interpreters, and hard workin’ farmers. Alisha directs NFNA with joy, empathy and determination to both write grants and fix irrigation lines. And Carolina from @vt.gardens , the behind the scenes photographer who mentors farmers and manages the demo plot.
Hi all 👋 We have an exciting new project on the horizon and need your support to achieve the final steps! With 200 new members we will be able to create a growing & learning space within our new community greenhouse. Help us to meet our goal by becoming a member today!
Follow the link in our bio to learn more and join as an individual, school, and/or business.
We are delighted to begin a new partnership with @huertasvt, thanks to a Farmer Resilience Grant we recently received through @nofavermont.
The Huertas Project is a community-based food security project that enables Latino/a migrant farmworkers and families living on Vermont’s dairies to access culturally familiar and local foods through cultivating kitchen gardens.
VGN will be providing technical support through the growing season, focusing on soil fertility, pest management, season extension, and climate resilient growing practices. We`ll also be providing useful supplies such as soil amendments and row covers, and capturing a handful of videos in Spanish to share this work more broadly among Huertas participants.
Photo credit goes to Naomi, thank you for the lovely capture! In the photo, Carolina from VGN is chatting with Epimenio, a gentleman originally from Chiapas who`s been working on dairy farms in Vermont for over a decade. Epimenio talked about his favorite hot peppers "chile manzano, con las florecitas moradas". Carolina recalled those peppers with purple flowers from her days managing urban agriculture programs in Mexico City. Naomi, Huertas Co-Director, took the sticker label off of a manzano pepper that Epimenio showed us. We are all now on a mission to figure out how to grow manzano peppers locally.
We eagerly await sharing more of our partnership work in the coming months!
Last week we welcomed the 2023 Thriving Gardens Course students to our teaching garden! Together we planted a row of peas to mark the occasion 🫛 (and YES, we always match our nail polish to our compost 💅🌱)
Late April/Early May is a perfect time to plant a second succession of peas (yes, second! the first is right after snow melt, typically late March/early April). Peas are a cool weather crop and prefer to germinate in cool soil temps as low as 45 degrees! We at VGN will soak our peas in water up to 24 hrs ahead of planting to help the seed coat swell ensuring higher germination success. Then we dust the seeds with an inoculant that contains Rhizobium bacteria (found at your local garden supply store). This bacteria exists symbiotically within the pea roots helping them to fix Nitrogen out of the atmosphere.
After these steps, we plant our peas 3-4" apart and intercrop a radish seed for every 6 peas as well as border the peas on both sides with a row of leafy greens like spinach or mesculin mix to enjoy while we wait for the peas to mature.
Enjoyed this tip about peas? Sign up for our newsletter via the link in bio to read our newly featured `garden tip of the month` and to stay in touch about upcoming events and other ways to get involved.
Volunteer with us during our annual Day in the Dirt Event on April 29th...only one week away!
Work may include building garden beds, assembling deer fences, spreading mulch, planting pollinator plants and other spring garden tasks. No special skills required and tools are provided. Get your hands dirty and maybe learn something too - fun for all ages and abilities!
Sign up at the link in our bio 🌞
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