Spring is around the corner and we are ready to get back outside and work in the dirt in our garden. The Growing Collective will soon be starting seeds that they’ll sell in May. Volunteers will help prepare the outdoor space, kickstarting our second year with a garden. In previous years, we only had a few rows of plants growing. During the fall of 2021 and throughout 2022, Farmshed volunteers put in many hours of work to expand our growing space to 1,536 feet! All of the produce we grew went back into our kitchen for our food security programs or was given away for free to anyone who needed it. We ended up growing and donating about 125 pounds of produce for the 2022 season! We are excited to continue this operation in 2023.
There will be opportunities for the community to get involved too! We have hosted groups of volunteers in the past to help us clear the garden, and hope to have them back again. Farmshed created a “Volunteer Garden Guide” for our volunteers to follow and learn about the daily activities we need done in the garden, including preparing the garden for planting, identifying plants, when to harvest, and how to close down the garden. In addition to creating a robust growing space for Farmshed, we hope this guide teaches new gardeners basic skills to use at home.
Keep an eye out for any volunteer opportunities in the garden on our social media (Facebook & Instagram) and our website.