Thanks to Cape Ann Lanes for hosting a family-friendly night of bowling, with proceeds supporting Backyard Growers‘ work empowering people to grow their own food.

Tickets to bowl are $25 per person. Your ticket will include three strings of bowling and shoe rentals. There will be a lot of great raffle prizes, and Cape Ann Lanes offers a fun arcade and in-house brew pub. It’s going to be an awesome night!

As our veggie gardeners know well, team work makes the dream work! Please consider recruiting a team to play at this fundraiser — just make sure all team members select the same lane at checkout.

COME CELEBRATE WITH US! Join Backyard Growers for a special ribbon-cutting to kick off the veggie-growing season in newly-expanded Burnham’s Field Community Garden!

📍 Burnham’s Field Community Garden

📆 Sunday, April 2, 11am

This spring, we are welcoming 55 households to the garden, where they will grow their own fresh food in raised garden beds – a nearly 50 percent increase in capacity

Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce is generously hosting this ribbon-cutting on the same morning as our first Burnham’s Gardener Work Day and our annual Free Seed Swap & Giveaway which is open to the public. It’s going to be a great, vibrant morning down at Burnham’s Field in Gloucester! Join us!

 Sweet little wine bottle summer squash illustration by our talented Garden Educator Hailey Small

 Join Backyard Growers at Helen’s Bottle Shop for a specialty fundraiser, featuring a curated natural wine-tasting and delicious bites. Proceeds support Backyard Growers’ work building healthy, connected, resilient communities by empowering people to grow their own food.

📍 Helen’s Bottle Shop @ 2 School Street, Manchester, MA

📆 Thursday, April 13, 5:30-8pm

 Tickets: $60 donation to Backyard Growers. Please note: This event is split into two sessions to allow the maximum number of people to join us for this special experience – session A, 5:30 – 6:30pm, and session B, 7 – 8pm. Please select your session at check-out.

  Thanks to Alexis Harwood, owner of Helen’s Bottle Shop & member of our Board of Directors, for hosting this delicious evening.

See you there!

Interesting in growing your own food with us this year? Learn more about our community programs here and explore our spring workshops here.

Backyard Growers is accepting applications for the Backyard Garden Program and the GrowBag Garden Program, which connect low- to moderate-income Cape Ann residents with the resources to grow their own food. Our Community Garden Program is now full for the 2023 season.

🍅 Backyard Garden Program – Backyard Growers builds raised garden beds in low- to moderate-income households’ backyards every spring. Apply for a garden bed built for easy access at your own home.

🥗 GrowBag Garden Program – The GrowBag Garden Program offers modular container gardening. Great for Cape Ann residents who are renters or who don’t have access to traditional outdoor growing space. Apply for a container garden and full veggie-growing resources.

Backyard Growers program participants receive access to growing space, veggie seeds and seedlings started by our friends at Cedar Rock Gardens, admission to gardening and cooking workshops, and an optional garden mentor.

Apply today to take full advantage of all our spring programs and get your garden started asap!

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

🌱 Pattypan squash! 🍉 Watermelon! 🍅 Kumato and Sungold tomatoes! 🧽 Smooth luffa gourd! 🐝 Wild bergamot! 🦋 Coreopsis! These are just a few of the veggies and flowers that the Backyard Growers team is looking forward to starting from seed indoors this spring.

You too can get a jumpstart on the 2023 growing season by starting your own seeds indoors RIGHT NOW! In this week’s online workshop How to Start Seeds Indoors, we’ll take you through the process of starting your own seeds, including a materials list, dos and don’ts, and a live Q&A.

Here are the details:
📍 On Zoom
📆 This Wednesday, March 8, 6:30pm
🎟 $15 general admission / FREE for Backyard Growers program participants (e.g. 2022 & 2023 Community Garden, Backyard Garden, GrowBag Garden Programs)

Plus, swing by our office at 103R Maplewood Ave, Gloucester, the next day on March 9, 2-5:30pm, to pick up free seeds you can start indoors now.

Each spring, Backyard Growers hosts a calendar of workshops and community events to empower people to grow their own food and connect neighbors over the shared experience of vegetable gardening. Check out the full calendar below – save the dates and register (where necessary!)

All workshops are $15 general admission / FREE for Backyard Growers program participants (e.g. Community Garden, Backyard Garden, and GrowBag Garden Programs managed by Backyard Growers)

🥕 In-Person Workshop: DIY Healthy Soil Amendments @ February 23

🌿 Virtual Workshop: How to Start Seeds Indoors @ March 8

🐝 Community Event: Free Seed Giveaway – Seeds to Start Indoors @ March 9

🦋 Community Event: Free Seed Giveaway & Swap at Burnham’s Field @ April 1

🍅 In-Person Workshop: How to Plan Your Vegetable Garden @ April 8

🌽 Virtual Workshop: How to Plan Your Vegetable Garden @ April 12

🌱 Community Event: April Seedling Sale (Online Ordering & Curbside Pickup) @ April 12 – April 22

💚 Community Event: May Seedling Sale (Online Ordering & Curbside Pickup) @ May 10 – 20

Questions? Contact us at community@backyardgrowers.org.

Plus, learn more about our Community Programs and how to grow your own food with us in 2023. Now accepting applications!

Join Backyard Growers to learn to prep your garden tools for spring and help them last for many growing seasons to come.

📍 Thursday, January 26, 5pm – 6:30pm

💻 On Zoom

🎟 FREE to Backyard Growers’ program participants (including 2022 Backyard, Community, and GrowBag Gardeners). $15 general admission.

In this workshop, attendees will learn to prolong the life of their garden tools and get the most out of them. We’ll teach sharpening methods, the use of lubrication and mineral oil, proper storage conditions, and more. The workshop will also introduce good rules of thumb for removing rust and concepts about radius/edge on your tools.

All are welcome!

 Join Backyard Growers and Sunspell Flora to learn how to design and create festive winter wreaths using local flora like amaranth, straw flower, and evergreen. Instructed by North Shore flower farmer Lauren Barnhill of Sunspell Flora, each participant will take home a wreath of their own creation.

When: December 7, 5-6:30pm

Where: Backyard Growers HQ @ 103R Maplewood Ave, Gloucester, MA, 01930

Tickets: $40 general admission / $20 Backyard Growers program participants (e.g. 2022 Community, Backyard Garden, or GrowBag Garden Programs)

 Children are welcome to join for free with a caretaker’s ticket purchase! We will be running a children’s winter craft activity during the workshop. If you plan to bring children, please RSVP for them at community@backyardgrowers.org.

 Light refreshments will be provided.

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

Join Backyard Growers and our awesome community at the 7th Annual Great Gloucester GrowDown. All proceeds from this blow-out fundraiser support our work cultivating healthy, connected, resilient communities by empowering people to grow their own food. Plus, this celebration will take place in-person for the first time since 2019!

📅 Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 6:30pm

📍 Short & Main, 36 Main Street, Gloucester, MA 01930

We’ll be toasting another successful growing season in our communities with farm-fresh drinks and nibbles provided local favorite Short & Main from ingredients grown by some of our favorite North Shore farms. The event will feature entertainment, a live video premiere and fund-a-need auction. We hope you’ll join us!

THANK YOU for making an impact. Our work is your work, and we couldn’t do it without you.