Programs
Home Gardens
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Did You Know
While countless studies have shown that gardening can dramatically reduce overall food costs and improve both mental and physical wellbeing, nearly 40% of home gardeners give up in the first year.
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What We Do
Our three-year Home Gardens Program matches aspiring gardeners with more experienced “Garden Advisors” who provide one-on-one mentoring, education, installation, tools, seeds, starts, and more - improving health outcomes and efficacy.
How We Do It
We believe that growing food is a transformative practice that connects us to the land, our health, and our community. Through this program, participants can grow an abundance of fresh food, save money on groceries, spend more time outside, and experience the therapeutic value of tending to nature. Here's how we do it:
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Program participants enroll on our website or through a local Community Organizer.
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We teach the participant to design, build, and maintain a sustainable high-yield garden bed in their very own yard.
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The Community Organizer works with the participant to assess their needs and create a plan.
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We continue to serve with culturally relevant, community-based, accessible
programming and resources.
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We conduct thorough lead soil testing to ensure that soil is safe, organic, and ready for growing.
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We then strive to hire and train past participants to work as Garden Advisors in their own communities.
What We Provide:
As part of the Home Gardens program, gardeners receive:
- An initial garden consult to determine the best location for their home garden
- Lead soil testing to ensure that soil is safe and ready for growing
- Installation of garden beds or containers
- Seeds and plant starts for 3 years
- Compost bins, if desired
- Help from gardeners through our Garden Advisor program
- Seasonal workshops on a variety of topics
- Garden resources in English and Spanish
- and so much more!
Garden Bed Options:
Growing Gardens offers three garden bed options:
In-Ground
Gardens:​
Two 4×8 foot “in-ground” garden beds using existing backyard soil along with compost, amendments, and sheet mulching to create a lush and nutritious space for growing food. (No wood frame)
Container
Gardens:
For residents unable to garden “in-ground”- we provide five-gallon plastic containers filled with soil. While this is a great option for those without backyards, it requires additional tending to be successful.
Accessible
Reaised gardens:
One accessible 4Ă—8 foot, 2 foot high wood-framed raised bed that can be tended from a wheelchair. This option is ideal for gardeners with health issues that prevent them from using in-ground beds.
How To Apply
Growing Gardens currently serves households meeting our income requirements in the Portland Oregon Metro area. We are currently accepting applicants in N, NE, SE, Gresham, Milwaukie, or Oregon City.
We hope to support additional neighborhoods soon! If you live outside of these areas we encourage you apply now to save your spot on the waitlist.
Click the button below to get started!
APPLY TODAY
Our Impact
The Home Gardens program has worked with over 1,590 households since 1996. Here's what they had to say in our most recent survey...
83% of households reported
increasing their consumption of fresh
vegetables.
76% shared extra produce with people outside of their family.
81% reported saving money on groceries.
53% decreased their use of emergency food services, with the inclusion of our CSA offerings.
83% increased their amount of
weekly exercise.
63% reported meeting new neighbors and community members.
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Partner Gardens
In addition to our home garden builds, Growing Gardens’ Partner Gardens Program is a three-year partnership with organizations interested in starting community gardens or garden programs at their facilities. We work with stakeholders to determine the needs of the community, the goals of the garden, and provide guidance, coaching, and instruction to create and sustain a vibrant gardening program.
Providence Garden Of Giving
This year, we are proud to provide the Gardening Workshop Series in the Garden of Giving at Providence Milwaukie Hospital! The new series - FREE to our community - is offered in both English and Spanish and teaches the basics for building and caring for a garden at home.
Special Projects
In addition to our home and partner garden builds, our Home Gardens team is always looking for innovative ways to serve the community. Here are our current special projects.
Farm to Community CSA BOXES
Growing a home garden from scratch takes time. Growing Gardens is proud to partner with local farms to provide healthful CSA boxes to our program participants as they await their very first harvest.
Herbal Medicine Workshops
In 2021, our Home Gardens team began herbal medicine training with our partner Mariquita Medicinals. Be on the look out for future workshops and education opportunities to help you grow and make your own medicine at home.
Here's How You Can Help
Donate today to help us keep our Home Garden program alive and thriving. Then subscribe to the News Beet newsletter to learn more about our work, receive regular program updates, and be the first to know about opportunities to volunteer.
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Additional Programs
Follow the links below to learn more about the three powerful programs we offer at Growing Gardens.
Home
Gardens
Providing bilingual resources and guided support for individuals & families as they grow their own garden at home.
Youth
Grow
Inspiring youth to practice sustainability, make healthy choices, and deepen their understanding of the natural environment.
Lettuce
Grow
working directly with incarcerated individuals in prisons to cultivate new skills and build a healthier community.