Stop by Burnham’s Field Community Garden (on the side closest to the basketball courts) for our second free vegetable seed giveaway of the year. We’ll have plenty of seeds available for people to sow directly into their gardens this spring, including peas, lettuces, spinach, beans, beets, radishes, and more. All are welcome.

Plus, meet Susan Wood, Backyard Growers’ new Community Programs Manager, who will be getting her hands dirty in community gardens, backyards, and container gardens all over Gloucester this growing season.

**RAIN LOCATION: Backyard Growers HQ at 103R Maplewood Ave, Gloucester, MA**

Questions? Reach us at community@backyardgrowers.org or 978-281-0470. 

🌱🌿🍅 Join Backyard Growers for an ONLINE WORKSHOP and FREE SEED GIVEAWAY to jumpstart your growing season. We’ll be sharing tips and tricks, plus offering a live Q&A, on how to successfully start seeds indoors this winter, followed by a drop-in free seed giveaway at our offices at 103R Maplewood Ave in Gloucester.

Online Workshop: How to start seeds indoors
February 27, 6-7pm
FREE for Backyard Growers Program participants / $15 general admission

Free Seed Giveaway
February 29, 3:30-5:30pm
Backyard Growers HQ @ 103R Maplewood Ave, Gloucester
FREE vegetable seeds for all!

APPLY NOW: Applications are now open for Backyard Growers’ 2024 Community Programs, with a mission to empower more Cape Ann residents to grow their own food and connect people to veggie gardening resources. Learn more & apply here: www.backyardgrowers.org/community-programs

Programs include:

Community Garden Program: Join one of six community gardens in Gloucester to connect with neighbors and grow your own food, including Burnham’s Field Community Garden and gardens in Gloucester Housing Authority and Caleb Group communities.

Backyard Garden Program: Backyard Growers builds raised garden beds for Gloucester residents each spring, enabling them to grow their own food at their homes. Your backyard could be next!

GrowBag Garden Program: Cape Ann residents receive a container garden (3 GrowBags) with resources to grow fresh food at home, without needing to install a garden bed. This is a great option for renters or people without traditional outdoor growing space.

All program participants receive access to growing space with nutrient-rich soil, gardening & cooking workshops, vegetable seeds & seedlings, and an optional gardening mentor.

Questions? Reach out to Backyard Growers at community@backyardgrowers.org or call 978-281-0480.

✨ Join a fun evening to craft your own festive garland from raw materials provided by Backyard Growers, including dehydrated citrus, popcorn, salted gingerbread, and more. Light refreshments will be provided.

💚 Proceeds from this event support Backyard Growers’ mission to cultivate healthy, connected, resilient communities by empowering people to grow their own food. Come have some festive fun and support a great cause!

Each year, Backyard Growers provides programming to teach Cape Ann residents vegetable gardening, cooking, and food preservation skills, in addition to creating opportunities for neighbors to connect and learn from each other. 

We want YOU to tell us what workshops you’d be interested in for the 2024 growing season so we can create a community calendar for all.

Complete the survey here by Tuesday, October 10. Share your questions at community@backyardgrowers.org or 978-281-0480.

Join us for Backyard Growers‘ annual fall fundraiser, The Great Gloucester GrowDown. At this year’s GrowDown, Backyard Growers will share stories from our community’s 2023 growing season and toast the power of growing food together.

Enjoy a delicious farm-to-table dinner with ingredients sourced from local North Shore farms and prepared by the magicians at Short & Main, plus signature seasonal cocktails. Contribute to a live fund-a-need auction to support our work empowering people to grow their own food, and connect with your community over the joy of supporting each other and growing food together!

Tickets are selling out fast! Proceeds support Backyard Growers’ work building healthy, connected, resilient communities by empowering people to grow their own food in Gloucester and beyond.

Backyard Growers is on the hunt for a School Garden Program Manager & Educator to lead and implement our seed-to-fork school garden programs in Gloucester Public Schools, pre-K through grade 12, and beyond.

This is a key role on our programs team – join us and have a direct impact on how kids engage with the food they eat (and grow!) in our community.

Backyard Growers is a Gloucester-based 501(C)3 nonprofit organization with a commitment to cultivating healthy, connected, resilient communities by empowering people to grow their own food.

A beginner’s guide to foraging the weeds from your vegetable garden

Learn the fundamentals of foraging local plants including dandelions, purslane, and lamb’s quarter, so you can “eat your weeds.”

In this workshop, Backyard Growers offers a new perspective on common plants that pop up in your raised garden beds. By the end of this workshop not only will you have the fundamental tools to forage these local plants, but you’ll also attain a deeper appreciation for how these plants came to be and their place in our diets, too.

Learn more & reserve your spot

Learn how to identify common plant challenges and overcome them in your vegetable garden.

Plants communicate their needs to us, but it takes a careful observer to understand what they’re saying. From too much watering to under- or over-feeding, this workshop will help attendees recognize common issues and needs of your specific crops as well as amendments to help mitigate the problems.

Join Backyard Growers for this in-person at Burnham’s Field Community Garden in downtown Gloucester for this hands-on lesson.

Healthy soil, sanitary tools, and cooperation with other life forms are the keys to our most effective approach to pest management in your vegetable garden: prevention! In this online workshop, Backyard Growers will walk you through how to minimize human, microbiological, and plant risk by using the ecosystem as the starting point to diagnose pest issues threatening your harvest.

Backyard Growers is a Gloucester-based 501(C)3 nonprofit organization committed to cultivating healthy, connected, resilient communities by empowering people to grow their own food.