Backyard Growers Program
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Nearby non profit organizations
Gloucester Avenue 2nd Floor
01930
Prospect Street
Burnham Street
P. O. Box 6012
PO Box 3010
PO Box 924
01930
01930
01930
01930
01930-0006
Building healthy, connected, resilient communities by empowering people to grow their own food We believe in the transformative power of food.
Backyard Growers is dedicated to cultivating community by growing food together. We have built hundreds of garden beds across Gloucester at schools, in backyards, at public parks, and community organizations. Our programs are filled with people from all walks of life: low to moderate income families putting fresh veggies on their tables from our community gardens, volunteer mentors helping seniors grow food in their backyards, and people learning new skills and teaching others. In schools, our work is about a generation of kids growing up planting, harvesting and eating their own school-grown food. Our programs impact over 2,000 kids in Gloucester Public Schools, where we maintain nine school gardens with 74 raised garden beds, resulting in 1,000 lbs of veggies in school cafeterias annually. Keep growing, keep eating fresh, delicious food, keep working together, and we'll see you in the garden!
11/03/2026
It’s Election Day! If you haven’t already, please get out and vote today. 🇺🇸🗳️
Support us in November by purchasing a Bloomin’ for Good bouquet from Stop & Shop. For every bunch of flowers purchased, Backyard Growers receives $1.
There are tons of events in November where you may be purchasing flowers - consider supporting us when you do so!
10/30/2026
Plant garlic in 5 easy steps!
You’ll want to start now (mid-October to early November) for harvest in July.
1. Pick a hardneck garlic from a regional seed grower. Don’t plant garlic from the grocery store, as it may have been treated to hinder sprouting or might harbor pests.
2. Find a sunny, well-draining spot. Garlic doesn’t like overly wet soil.
3. Separate garlic into cloves, leaving the papery skin on. The bigger the cloves the better.
4. Plant the cloves point end up, 2 - 3’’ deep, with bulbs about 6’’ apart. Rows should be 8 - 12’’ apart.
5. Water & mulch - Water once and cover with 4 - 6’’ of hay (we love the salt marsh hay because it’s weed-free).
Note: Be on the lookout for shoots to emerge in April and check back here for what to do then.
It’s Tuesday, which means it’s Garden Club day at GHS. As the fall season winds down, students are focused on making the most of the new greenhouse. The greenhouse was just built this season - huge thanks to Elise and Tucker & Building Center for your help! A few weeks ago, the kids planted hearty greens like spinach and kale, which are just starting to sprout.
Students are also focused on the raised beds, taking notes of what needs to be fixed for next year and planting crops that will winter well, like Garlic. Meanwhile, they are waiting patiently to harvest things like carrots, which get sweeter after the first frost.
10/21/2026
Even with fall weather in full swing, the gardens are still showing signs of life! We stopped by Burnham's Field last week and were pleasantly surprised by how many things are still growing.
The depth of colors and variety of items is astounding 🤯
Huge thank you to our community gardeners who make the gardens beautiful and abundant!
If you're interested in becoming a community gardener next year, be on the lookout for applications in the new year.
10/19/2026
Make sure you’re in the know with all things Backyard Growers! Our newsletters go out on a monthly basis and keep you informed on everything that is happening in the gardens and beyond.
It’s harvest season! 🥕🎃 This week, Gardener Meg helped our preschoolers harvest fall crops like carrots, beans, and pumpkins.
Every harvest comes with a hands-on learning activity, like counting or estimating. If you have a child in preschool, elementary, or middle school, they took part in a harvest this month, so ask them what their class picked!
10/13/2026
Last week we visited four properties to help with fall clean out 🍁 this is our second season working with our friends Eliot Community Human Services
Residents choose what to plant and are responsible for keeping the garden growing on their own. We stop by frequently to advise on best practices, engage community members and make sure the beds are ready for the next season.
The crop highlight this time - currant tomatoes 🍅
As we harvested, we chatted about the best ways to use the harvest. What would you do with thousands of mini tomatoes?
10/13/2026
Only a few days left to help us win $5,000!
BankGloucester is hosting their annual Banking For The Community program. You vote for your favorite non-profits across Cape Ann and Bank Gloucester awards prizes based on the total number of votes each organization receives.
Vote online or in-person! The link can be found in our bio or visit any branch before Wednesday 9/30.
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.
Category
Website
Address
103 R Maplewood Avenue
Gloucester, MA
01930
Opening Hours
| Monday | 9am - 5pm |
| Tuesday | 9am - 5pm |
| Wednesday | 9am - 5pm |
| Thursday | 9am - 5pm |
| Friday | 9am - 5pm |
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