Our Families Grow Healthy
2024 Home Garden Mentoring Project
Seaside and Pacific Grove Residents! You can still sign up for CSMC’s Fall 2024 Home Gardening mentor program. Find more details and sign up below.
“Our Families Grow Healthy” is all about empowering families to take charge of their health, environment, and future through home gardening. This initial phase involves pilot projects in Seaside and Pacific Grove.
Each household that signs up for the program will receive:
- a GARDEN TO GO
- a raised bed kit or grow bags
- organic soil
- garden tools, and
- organic seeds
Seaside and Pacific Grove Residents can still sign up to garden at home with a mentor.
To participate or for information, contact Cathy Rivera
by phone (831) 915-7260 or email crivera@csmc.eco
Saturday Morning Gardening Workshop Series at the
Monterey Adult School. Register NOW for workshops at the Seaside campus!
First quarter Classes begin
August 31, 2024.
- Aug 31: Fall/Winter Succession Crops
- Sept 14: Preparing for Fall/Winter Gardening & Garden to Kitchen Harvest Share
- Sept 28: Winter Transplanting & Cover Crops
- Oct 19: Healthy Plants: Disease Identification & Pest Control
- Nov 2: Native Plants & Pollinators
- Nov 16: Winter Garden and Spring Prep: Fruit Tree Pruning & Dormant Care
Some of the Benefits of Home Gardening:
- Garden Workshops: Educational workshops will be presented at Pacific Grove and Seaside Community Garden sites where participants will learn essential gardening skills, from planting seeds to harvesting, in a real garden setting.
- Starter Garden Kits: To kickstart the gardening journey, starter garden kits containing a raised bed kit, soil, garden tools, and organic vegetable seeds will be provided to each participating household. Starting a home garden has never been easier!
- Mentorship: Starting a home garden can be daunting, especially for novices. Individuals and families of all backgrounds and skill levels, from complete beginners to seasoned gardeners, are welcome to participate. Experienced gardeners will be there to offer guidance and support through the first season.
- Healthy Lifestyle: Planting and growing food is a hands-on activity that provides physical exercise, relieves stress, improves mood and self-esteem, and provides easy access to nutritious food options.
- Social Capital: Sharing and learning in the garden connects people from all different backgrounds, ages, and walks of life. Home gardening sparks inspiration and promotes joy in gardening. The shared experience strengthens intergenerational bonds, addresses food insecurity, and fosters community connections that contribute to sustainable outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Seaside and Pacific Grove households: email Cathy Rivera (Sustainable Seaside) at crivera@csmc.eco
No. Communities for Sustainable Monterey County raised funds for “Our Families Grow Healthy” as a Big Idea in the MC Gives! campaign. Your participation will be covered by these funds.
No, but it was designed as pilot programs based in those two communities. We wish to remove transportation barriers by having proximity between participants, the community gardens where the workshops are offered, and the garden mentors who will help participants right in their home gardening sites.
We certainly hope so! If our pilot programs prove successful, we hope to replicate them across Monterey County with additional funding and collaboration with our program partners.
We will be making some easy-to-grow seeds and vegetable starts available throughout the growing season as part of the workshops. If there are particular food plants or seeds you wish to use beyond those offered, we can help source them for our participants.
You can get started as soon as you sign up! If you need starting supplies and soil, we will make them available for you as soon as you are ready. Depending on weather conditions, you may be advised to wait until your success is supported by the seasonal weather.
The program is designed to provide you with advice from an experienced gardener who has grown vegetables right in your locale. Our volunteers are prepared to visit your garden site and help you get started and solve problems you encounter.
No, but it is highly recommended! We realize that you may have time conflicts on planned workshop dates, but those events will provide you with the answers to your questions and those of others who attend that you may not have thought of. We want everyone to be equipped with the knowledge and materials they need to grow healthy!
If classes are filled, we anticipate more opportunities to sign up for gardening classes in Fall 2024. Details will be posted at https://mas.mpusd.net/. Register HERE
Inquire about Gardening Workshops at the
Monterey Adult School in Seaside
Our Community Partners
This project is funded in part by individual donors during the 2023 Monterey County Gives! campaign. Your gift will directly support families and individuals in our community as they make home gardening an integral part of a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. All gifts, no matter how big or small, are appreciated.
Tax ID #26-1183384
Thank You to our Monterey County Gives! Partners
Monterey County Gives! is made possible by a partnership between the Monterey County Weekly, the Community Foundation for Monterey County and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. Together they provide a way for our community to work together for the common good, turning shared aspirations and noble causes into practical initiatives.
