Workshops

We are thrilled to announce that our annual seed bundle donations are ready to be mailed to gardeners all around Vermont!

Donations are intended for community-based gardens and gardeners who would benefit from receiving a few extra seed packets to grow nourishing food. Bundles include a mix of 30 vegetables, herbs & flower seed packets; most are organic, some are conventional seeds.

Link in bio to request a seed bundle donation or link to https://vtgardens.org/seed-bundle-donations ...

We are receiving applications for the Vermont Fruit & Nut Tree Grant until December 2, please help us spread the word!

Goals:
- To support planting fruit and nut trees at community garden sites in Vermont.
- To prioritize planting of these trees at sites serving underserved populations.
- To ensure survival and proper care of these trees through grant guidance, educational offerings, and sharing resources.
- To develop and share success stories and best practices for community fruit and nut tree planting, care and use.

Follow the link in bio to read application guidelines.
@vt.gardens @branchoutburlington ...

After two years of socially distancing during the holidays, our annual fundraiser is back! Book your session online ASAP to make sure your family is able to book a time to create some beautiful and festive photo for your annual holiday card, or to treasure as a keepsake. Each family will leave have the option to receive their digital images via email, or to take the photos with their own camera/smartphone. Link for reservations in bio! ...

Collective gardens are growing spaces where gardeners share the work of planting, tending and harvesting in one large plot together, differentiated from the traditional individually-tended community garden “plots.” These growing communities have their own unique set of opportunities, challenges, and creative solutions.

The Collective Gardening Community of Practice welcomes all individuals involved in this work, to share ideas, swap resources, and brainstorm solutions for more robust and resilient collective garden communities.

Our next Zoom Meetup will be on Wednesday, November 9, from 9:00-10:30am.

In preparation for gathering, we encourage all participants to read the 8-page “Growing Our Gardens, Growing Ourselves: A Curious Gardener’s Guide to Garden Planning, Journeying with Robin Wall Kimmerer”, generously shared by @fruition_seeds. The reflection questions in the reading invite readers to pause and contemplate why we are gardening, who we are gardening for, and how gardens grow us just as much as we grow them. We look forward to expanding on these reflections with all of you in the context of collective gardens as another growing season comes to a close.

RSVP link in bio! ...

Our fall crops at the Co-op Victory Garden are looking spectacular!

One reason to love the chicory plant family is that pests seem to ignore them, so we get to directly admire their burgundy hues. Under the row cover we are growing broccoli, cauliflower, bok choi, and many cabbage varieties - row cover is the only way we avoid swede midge and cabbage whites. Elsewhere in the garden we have many carrots, beets, fennel, and cilantro growing nicely in this cooler weather. Our most recent succession planting for fall features lots of spinach, arugula, claytonia, and mâche - we’ll harvest those into December, they will overwinter, and then continue to provide us with a nutritious green harvest in early spring 2023.

We’d love to show you around the Co-op Victory Garden (it’s the collective market garden we manage at the Intervale, in Burlington) and offer you taste tests of this delicious harvest. Send us a message if you’d like to visit during an afternoon garden work shift (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday) or a morning shift (Wednesday & Saturday).

We also welcome volunteer hands, so if you want to enjoy autumn weather in a garden, send us a message to include you in volunteer emails.

@vermontchicoryweek @vt.gardens ...

Join us for a last workshop in the Garden Like a Farmer series to deepen your relationship with seeds. Where do your seeds come from? What seeds would you like to pass on to the next generation of growers?

We will reflect on the beauty and abundance of seeds as we learn tips and techniques for seed saving in a small-scale garden. Learn about self-sowing annuals like calendula, culinary herb seeds like coriander, fermenting mucilaginous tomato seeds, and much more!

We encourage attendees to bring seeds you may have already saved and are ready to swap with other growers.

Registration is free! Link in our bio!
@intervalecenter @btvparks ...

Join us for our last collective garden tour of the season - this time at the Folsom Learning Garden in South Hero on Saturday, September 10. ...

Get ‘em while they’re hot!

Our new hand-printed tote bags are available with the purchase of a ticket to the Garden Gala event at Stowe Cider on August 18th. Come join us for drinks and fun garden activities!

Ticket link on our website. ...

Member Spotlight: Meet the Manchester Community Garden!

The Manchester Community Garden, located in the town Recreation Area, was started about 20 years ago, and has been a member of Vermont Garden Network for the past year.

The garden has 40 plots and has mixed uses from groups and families to solo gardeners. The Regenerative Agriculture Garden Group has three plots and utilizes regenerative practices to grow food for the local food shelf.

Read the full story on our website! (Link in bio) ...

Come join us for a celebration of gardens- August 18th at Stowe Cider! ...

It’s only mid-summer, but it’s time to focus on fall harvests and winter storage crops. In this workshop, we will explore succession planting and get into the nitty gritty of scheduling your direct sowing and transplanting to make the most of the growing season. Factors such as diminishing daylight, pest life cycles, and cooler temperatures pose advantages and disadvantages for fall plantings. If you have been dreaming of sweet carrots, overwintered spinach, watermelon radishes, and easily growing cauliflower, then be sure to join us for this workshop.
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In-person on Thursday, July 7 from 5-6:30pm at the Co-op Victory Garden, Intervale, Burlington.
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Free! Registration link in bio.
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After the workshop, be sure to head down the dirt road for good food, good music, and good people at the first Summervale of the season! @intervalecenter ...

An ode to gardening hands, and especially these hands. One hand from an elderly gentleman who rolled up his wheelchair to an accessible bed to transplant cilantro. And the other hands belonging to Grace, one of our fabulous Garden Education interns who gently guided the transplanting at a senior residence this morning.

Gardening hands full of L-O-V-E.
💗 ...

A call for volunteers!
The growing season is now fully upon us and VGN is seeking extra support in our gardens as well as on our committees! If you have some downtime and would like to get involved, we have opportunities for you. Whether you want to get a taste of our Burlington based gardens or help plan an event!
To learn more about how to volunteer with VGN, visit our website (link in bio). ...

There is so much to love about growing tomatoes and so much to learn!
In this workshop we will begin by understanding all the terminology included in the description of a tomato variety - is it a hybrid or heirloom, determinate or indeterminate, paste or beefsteak tomato? Participants will learn transplanting techniques unique to tomatoes, as well as tips for pruning and fertilizing through the growing season. We will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different trellises and structures to support tomatoes. And of course, touch upon pests and diseases that are common to tomatoes.

This workshop is facilitated by Carolina Lukac, Garden Education Manager with the @vt.gardens

The workshop takes place at the Co-op Victory Garden, a collectively-tended garden where shared access to land and resources, intensive growing techniques, and a mentorship program empower people to grow a lot of food on a small plot of land.

Participation is FREE!
Please register to confirm your spot and receive a confirmation email with the exact meeting location at the Intervale.
Registration link in bio!
@intervalecenter @btvparks @agroecology_uvm ...