July’s blog post comes from Grow OV’s Backyard Gardeners participant Kasie Chastain:

Being a participant in the backyard gardeners’ program with Grow Ohio Valley has been life changing for me. The guidance and support the organization provides to its gardeners is extremely helpful and encouraging.

I grew up helping my mother and grandmother maintain very large gardens. But as an adult I have not been able to garden on a larger scale like I really
wanted to. Until now. This program has not only given me the knowledge and tools to succeed, but mostly it has given me the confidence I needed, to know that I was fully capable of gardening successfully! I spend a lot of time in my garden, and it has become a routine place for me to deal with stress. I go into my garden and nothing else matters but me, the dirt on my hands, and the love for my crops I have. It makes me feel whole on days that I struggle with life.

Moving forward in life, whether I’m in an urban or rural setting, I feel I have the knowledge necessary to grow my own food. I am mostly vegetarian so having this accessibility right in my back yard has cut back on costs of the main items I would normally be buying the grocery store, while giving me a sense of pride and accomplishment.