GYO Workshop: Herbs & Wild Edibles – Tazewell County
We will talk about plants you can grow and plants you can find and what to do with them! There are tons of medicinal plants right outside your door (even […]
Free
Grow Your Own
Helping families grow their own fresh food while building a community of growers who care about their health, the environment, and community well-being.
About Grow your Own
Grow Your Own (GYO) is a gardening program for everyone – from someone growing for the first time to seasoned market gardeners. Grow Your Own is a needs-based program, meaning it is focused on helping families gain knowledge, networks, and their own fresh food. Grow Your Own folks grow for themselves, their neighbors, food pantries, and for market.
The Grow Your Own program provides training and services tailored to two grower levels.
Every year around January, applications open for approximately 50 spaces. Since this is a needs-based program, selection for participation is based on specific criteria. Selected applicants have options for grower level and participation location. And folks who apply but are not selected can still attend workshops, virtually. Read on to learn more!
grower levelS
Beginner
A beginner level series that provides:
- Seeds, tools, starts, and foundational education on growing (all free)
- Site visits and tilling to prepare their garden space
- Monthly beginner-level workshops that focus on the basics of home growing. Participants are required to attend at least 6 of 9 workshops hosted by ASD.
- These workshops are held on the last Tuesday of each month.
- Opportunities to volunteer at the Tazewell community garden or ASD’s new Singingwood property for additional, hands-on education
Intermediate
An intermediate level series that provides:
- Opportunities for 2nd year participants to serve as mentors to participants in the Beginner level
- Monthly intermediate-level workshops that dive deeper into growing for home and/or business. Participants are required to attend at least 6 of 9 workshops hosted by ASD.
- These workshops are held on the last Monday of each month.
- Opportunities to volunteer at the Tazewell community garden or ASD’s new Singingwood property for additional, hands-on education
2025 Class Schedule
Beginner Classes
You can register for the online classes here.
Garden Planting, April 29 – This lesson will provide a guide to warm weather and cold weather crops, plus appropriate garden spacing. You will also learn about “companion plants,” plants you can utilize to help get nitrogen back into your soil. Plus you will learn the difference between sowing and transplanting seeds.
Garden Maintenance, May 27 – This lesson provides the fundamental understanding of WISP which stands for Weed suppression, Integrated pest management, Soil health, and Plant health. You and your plants won’t want to miss it!
Food Preservation, June 24 (5 pm) – This will be an in-person workshop, where we will have a guest come show us the basics principles of preserving our produce.
The class will take place at Pleasant View Church at 18416 Lee Highway, Abingdon, VA 24210.
Email Joe Kohn at jkhon@asdevelop.org if you are interested. We will confirm if there is a spot for you closer to the event.
Heart-Healthy Cooking, July 29 (5 pm) – This will be an in-person workshop with a guest instructor. The goal is to focus on foods that promote cardiovascular health by reducing the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. This style of cooking emphasizes the use of nutrient-rich, heart-healthy ingredients and healthy cooking methods.
The address will be announced soon.
Email Joe Kohn at jkhon@asdevelop.org if you are interested. We will confirm if there is a spot for you closer to the event.
Composting, August 26 – This lesson will explain why we compost, how to compost, and the many benefits of using your own compost in your garden.
Season Extension, September 30 – Learn about techniques used to extend the growing season for plants. This allows gardeners to grow crops for a longer period of time, either earlier in the spring or later into the fall.
Herbs and Wild Edibles, October 28– This class provides a comprehensive list of garden and wild medicinal and edible herbs.
Intermediate Classes
You can register for the online classes here.
Soils & Soil Health, April 28 – This lesson will provide you with an understanding of creating and maintaining healthy soil, and what healthy soil is.
Irrigation, May 26 – Our irrigation course will show you the different methods of creating irrigation systems, and how to implement them into our gardens.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM), June 30 – Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an environmentally friendly approach to controlling pests in gardening and agriculture. Instead of relying solely on chemical pesticides, IPM focuses on a combination of strategies to prevent, monitor, and manage pest populations in a way that is both effective and sustainable.
Food Safety, July 28 – This course will teach the practices that ensure the food you grow and harvest is safe to eat and free from harmful pathogens, contaminants, and toxins. Since food is grown in the soil and exposed to the environment, it’s important to take steps to prevent contamination from sources like pests, diseases, improper handling, and environmental factors.
Cottage Law, August 25 – Come learn about cottage food laws. This allows people to prepare food in their own homes or small kitchens (rather than commercial facilities) and sell them to the public. It encourages entrepreneurship for those who want to make food as a side business or hobby, such as baking, preserving, or making jams and jellies.
Advanced Season Extension, September 29 – Learn about techniques used to extend the growing season for plants. This allows gardeners to grow crops for a longer period of time, either earlier in the spring or later into the fall.
Regenerative Agriculture, October 27 – Come learn about regenerative agriculture, a farming and gardening approach focused on rebuilding and improving the health and biodiversity of the soil, ecosystem, and overall environment.
Upcoming events
0 events found.
Latest Past Events
GYO Workshop: Herbs & Wild Edibles – Washington County
Native Cherokee man John Powers, a hobby herbalist turned Certified Medical Herbalist, will join us to talk about medicinal plants! What to use, what not to use, and where to […]
Free
GYO Workshop: Regenerative Agriculture – Washington County
Join us on September 26 (6-7:30 pm) at ASD's Greenhouse for our Regenerative Agriculture Grow Your Own Workshop.We will talk about the principles of regenerative agriculture along with the history […]
Free
What are the benefits of growing your own food?
Reduced grocery bill, controlling your nutrition, being outside…
Most of our 2023 GYO participants had very specific reasons for learning to grow their own food. We interviewed some of them – Kayla and Chandler, Janet and Herb, and Terra – and realized that although their stories are different, they all found so many of the same benefits.
Member Onboarding Materials
Get Involved
Stay in the know by joining the Grow Your Own mailing list.
Show your support for the Grow Your Own program by donating!
Learn more about growing your own on the Grow Appalachia blog.
Contact The Program coordinator
Joe Kohn
Agriculture Education and Enrollment Coordinator
jkohn@asdevelop.org
276.623.1121
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