Hi all! We’re Build It Up in East Tennessee. One of the things we like to do is participant blogs. This is a fun way for our participants to get further involved in the program and create a deeper understanding of their experience. Below is an example from one of our returning gardeners, Georgia.

Georgia’s story:

“My name is Georgia and this is my second year in the Build It Up program. I live in Hampton, Tennessee and have been gardening in some capacity most of my life. My parents taught my siblings and myself to grow our own food, to cook, and to preserve our produce through canning and freezing. Since I moved to Hampton, I have been growing produce in my garden. I’ve also started a high tunnel unheated greenhouse for our family of 5. We finished the greenhouse in late fall of 2018 and began to plant… What a learning experience it has been! We have maintained some sort of crop in the high tunnel since then, ranging from greens and brassicas in the winter to beans, hot peppers, and tomatoes in the summer.

Last year, with the help of Build It Up, I grew the best garden I’ve ever grown.  I successfully grew broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, garlic, kale, and sweet potatoes for the first time. This is in addition to successfully growing everything I had already grown in previous years. I also have benefited greatly from the organization and planning of my garden that Build It Up teaches to its budding gardeners. This year I want to try growing brussel sprouts and celery for the first time. I know I am in good hands in this program. My three boys are excited to have their own rows in the garden this year and we have already drawn up what they want to plant and how we will space it. I have already learned tons from Build It Up and I’m looking forward to learning even more this year!”
Here are some pictures from Georgia’s garden!