The GROW Garden Lab

From humble beginnings

We were able to construct the first 3 of five rows in the terraced garden this year.

Students wasted no time planting in potatoes!

Hugelkultur mound

We also were able to construct the first three rows of hugelkultur mounds this year, although this first one was the most impressive.

Hugelkulture Graphic

This image explains in detail the concept of hugelkultur farming.

The GROW Learning Garden

When it comes to food production, GROW's goals are to bring people together in community, inspire them to try new ways of doing things, and equip them to replicate ideas they see at GROW in their own home spaces. Therefore, from our perspective, the production of food is a secondary goal to the education of the public. That's not to discount it's value. The food gardens are an integral part of the GROW project and a space that will consume the most of our resources in years to come.

You may be wondering what is the point of a food garden if the goal isn't to make food. For us, the point is to give people a place to TRY. Through trial, with both success and failure, we will learn together while increasing our communal knowledge of urban farming best practices. Unlike most community gardens, there are no boxes available for rental at GROW. All food is grown collaboratively, with many different groups of people playing a part: our homeschool naturalist students, local scout troops, local residents, public school groups, and GROW volunteers! When food is ripe and available, we typically allow foraging children first dibs to it. What remains is distributed among those who happen to be in the garden helping at the time of it's harvest. So, we'll learn from our mistakes when crops fail to produce and we will celebrate our success when they are abundant! Together!