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.

Keep your tomatoes healthy so they can produce the most delicious fruit this season!

In this workshop, Backyard Growers Program Coordinator Xavier will share the most important things to take care of to ensure good tomato health, including tomato ailments and challenges to watch for. We’ll also give examples of different trellising styles and their uses to give you a range of methods to keep your tomato plants growing upright.

Join us to keep your tomato skills sharp!

📆 June 8, 4:30-5:30pm

📍 Burnham’s Field Community Garden (Courtside – by the basketball courts)

 FREE for Backyard Growers program participants (eg 2023 Backyard Garden, Community Garden, GrowBag Garden Programs)

 $15 general admission – proceeds support Backyard Growers’ work to build healthy, connected, resilient communities by empowering people to grow their own food

Learn more & purchase your tickets.

Backyard Growers’ May Seedling Sale is open for online ordering through Wednesday, May 17, for curbside pickup and in-person shopping on Saturday, May 20. Purchase veggie seedlings including a variety of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and basil started by our pals at Cedar Rock Gardens. We sell individual plants rather than four-packs.

This sale also features other growing supplies including Neptune’s Harvest fish & seaweed fertilizer, High Mowing Organic Seeds, GrowBags, and more. All orders will be available for pickup at Backyard Growers HQ on Saturday, May 20, 11am-2pm. Plus, we’ll have extra seedlings and other goodies for in-person purchase.

Proceeds support our work building healthy, connected, resilient communities by empowering people to grow their own food. Stop by to say hello and get your veggie garden up and running for the 2023 growing season!

Join community gardener & yoga teacher Jasmine Epstein for this hybrid yin yoga class designed specifically for gardeners — including deep stretches and release for the neck, shoulders, and back.

📆 Friday, April 28, 4pm

📍 You can attend this class in-person at Backyard Growers HQ or online.

FREE for Backyard Growers program participants / $15 general admission. Proceeds support our work building healthy, connected, resilient communities by empowering people to grow their own food. Thanks to Jasmine for donating her time and talent by leading this class!

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!