Spring has Sprung at the FBYC Garden!

It may feel like winter still, but here at the Food Bank of Yolo County, our garden is showing signs of the warm weather and summer growing season to come. Working with two volunteer Master Gardeners from the University of California Cooperative Extension in Yolo County, we have designed and planted a demonstration garden on site at the Food Bank. The garden will be integrated with our upcoming cooking classes, in addition to inviting the Master Gardeners back to host gardening classes. Any produce not used in cooking classes will be distributed to our neighbors in need through other Food Bank programs.

The garden is set up to show community members how easy it is to start a small backyard garden. Our traditional beds include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, corn, zucchini, watermelons, cantaloupe, beans, and more. We are also trying out the Square Foot Gardening technique, which focuses on maximizing a small amount of space. These four boxes, holding 16 plants each, are set up as:

• a salad box- with 16 different veggies & herbs to show how one 4-foot square box can provide enough veggies and enough variety for any family!
• an herb box- with 10 different herbs to add extra flavor to Chef Arturo’s creations
• a deep planter- holding some carrots this summer but will come in quite handy for planting root vegetables for the winter growing season
• a tomato/pepper/eggplant box- because who isn’t dreaming of that first ripe tomato, sweet or spicy pepper, or eggplant parmesan? Yum!

We planted the garden just 10 days ago with a combination of seedlings and seeds, and already the seeds are sprouting and we have our first tomatoes!

Check back for updates on the progress of our garden and the healthy, delicious recipes we create, or leave us a comment below to share your stories or tips from your own gardening experience.