by Cassidy Cabrera, Garden Resource Specialist
At the start of the pandemic, Sally and I had this inkling that the 2020 growing season would be unlike any other. COVID-19 forced the city to adapt to increased food insecurity across the region, food shortages in the supermarkets, and higher demands for fresh produce in food banks. We could feel a surge of community members wanting to take matters into their own hands – to dig in and plant more food crops this year, with extra to share!
We set out to gather community members to learn about food growing with and from each other. And because we couldn’t meet in-person, we began gathering via Zoom for the Beginner Food Growing workshop series. Since April, we have covered every aspect of food growing that a beginner gardener could think of: container and raised bed gardening, healthy soil, planting in each season, harvesting in each season … the list goes on and on.
Fear not! If you’re just hearing about our workshop series now for the first time, or if you missed a few in the lineup, you can catch the entire series on YouTube at your own pace.
You’ll notice a mantra that emerges halfway through the Beginner Food Growing workshops: “Now is the time to start gardening. It’s never too late to start.” Our mantra is so, so true. No matter what time of year, and there’s so much to be done in the garden. So start now. If you don’t know where to start, watch Harvesting Summer Crops & Starting Fall Crops and then head to Container Gardening after that.
