Start a Community Garden in your Yard!

We are very passionate about helping people grow food for themselves, and locally sourcing other foods they can't produce on their own.   Even though we create gardens for personal use in your backyard, we are also interested in developing community projects for people to share their food and gardening experience.  Jayne helped start Longfellow Creek Community Garden in her neighborhood, and so far we have grown a lot of food there.  Jenn planned and supervised the planting of the Food Bank garden and farm space on Vashon Island.

Today I (Jayne) came across a great site at communitygarden.org  that shows you step by step how to create a community garden. This year, I am planning the plot (on Longfellow Creek) and I hope it will be even easier to grow and harvest food there. Since we already have the site already prepped and some of the seeds, we have a head start. I plan to use the site through the season to ask questions of veteran community gardeners about the plan, the food, organizing community members, and whatever else comes up for us. I think it will be useful for inspiration this year. We have been wanting to grow food specifically for the food bank, and to grow enough to put some away for the winter. I hope this is the year we can make all of that happen- My winter food bills are way too much!
I hope to be included in a grant to create 4 more community gardens for low income folks in the Delridge area of Seattle. The criteria for having the garden at your house depends on the grant, but you have to share the produce, and maybe the work with your neighbors. If you have a large, sunny garden that you would be willing to transform, please contact us at goodfoodgardens@gmail.com so we can look at your space, decide how many people it could feed, and give you a quote on the hours/ money it would take to transform it into a Mini Farm or see if you are eligible for participation in the grant!

Vegetable List to ponder - Yum!

Spring/Summer Planting
Vegetable List
Arugula, Beets, Broccoli, Bush Beans, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Chard, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Kale, Many kinds of Lettuce, Lettuce mix for cut & come again, Leeks, Mustard Greens Mix, Braising Greens Mix, Onions, Peas- Snow,Sugar & Shelling; Peppers- Hot, sweet, red, orange, yellow, green & mini; Pole Beans (and trellis), Potatoes ( red/new, yellow & fingerling), Spinach, Sorrel, Summer Squash- crook neck, pattipan, and raven; Tomatillo, Tomatoes- Paste, Cherries and slicers; Pumpkins-Racer—the perfect jack’o’lantern pumpkin, Rouge Vif d’Etampes— the “Cinderella” pumpkin for our favorite princesses, & Sugar Pie yum! Radishes, Winter Squash- Zeppelin Delicata, Butternut, Acorn, & Spaghetti.
Herb and Edible Flower List (annuals)
Basil- Genovese, Red Rubin, Mammoth, Thai; Borage, Cilantro/Coriander, Dill, Parsley, Calendula, Nasturtium, Sunflower.

And for returning farms - in addition to a cover crop of clover and other soil building plants- collards, Brussels sprouts, garlic, leeks and more.

Announcing: Good Food Gardens

We create a beautiful vegetable garden in your yard, and help you learn to grow nutritious food and herbs while building the soil fertility and conserving our resources.
In our great grandparents time, every household had a kitchen garden that was planted with hearty greens, salad fixings, and herbs. They were usually situated in the backyard, near the kitchen so the cook could quickly step outside to pick fresh food and herbs to liven up the meal. Our aim is to recreate those kitchen gardens and help you eat healthy vibrant food from your own yard, and eventually get you growing on your own.

Join Good Food Gardens and keep it real local- your backyard!

What do you get from Good Food Gardens?

You enjoy fresh, vibrant veggies and herbs weekly.
Your farmer comes to you.
You receive recipes weekly.
You know your food source intimately.
Your household can learn as we go.
You get a cool, back yard retreat.

What Good Food Gardens provides:

We use crop rotation and improve soil nutrition.
We provide the appropriate plants and seeds through the season.
We provide the expertise & hard work.
We tend and harvest the farms weekly.

We do all the work, you enjoy your Good Food!

We have different plans to choose from:

The Full Meal Deal- Installation & Weekly or Monthly Maintenance:
Once a week (or month) we tend your yard, harvest your veggies and healing herbs, and leave them in a basket on your doorstep ready to eat. You and your family are encouraged to harvest from the garden the rest of the week, picking the freshest possible vegetables for every meal. At the end of the season, we will leave your yard in a cover crop to enhance next year's soil.

Help Yourself! Consulting: Maintaining a garden takes skills, time, and organization. Many people have the time and energy to maintain a garden, but don't know when to start and how to plan for the full season. This is the service for you! You do the work, and learn different aspects of farming in your unique ecosystem each month. We will provide the plant starts, or we will help you start them yourselves! Everyone in the household can join in the consultation. Eventually, our goal is to teach you how to plan for and create a system that works in your garden, and for your household.

Who are You Farmers?

Jayne Simmons wants you to grow your own vegetables and make your own home remedies, and generally become more self sufficient. She has been an avid gardener and cook for over 20 years, served on the Board of Directors for Seattle Tilth from 2002 until 2005, and helped to re-create The Longfellow Creek Community Garden in 2008. Jayne lives in West Seattle and owns Sister Sage Herbs, an herb farm and natural remedies company on Vashon Island, and is working towards her own self sufficiency.

Jen Coe envisions a world in which everyone has access to fresh, organic produce. She has worked with farmers in West Africa, volunteered as a WSU Master Gardener, and served on the board of the Vashon Island Growers Association. For five years Jen managed a 16 acre school farm, where she both gardened with children and grew produce for Seattle restaurants. She is currently working hard to establish a vegetable garden for the Vashon Food Bank. Jen lives, farms and raises honey bees on Vashon Island.

To sign up contact Jayne Simmons @ 206-898-2101 - tilthjayne@yahoo.com OR Jennifer Coe @ 206-384-0973- jenntree@gmail.com

* We can even maintain your chicken coop! Daily chicken care will be the responsibility of the home owner, but we will change the bedding and add chips to their yard (extra fee).