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We Reached our Goal!
Thanks to our many generous donors, we surpassed our $5000 fundraisinggoal during our November fundraising campaign. Our donors pushed usover the top with strong early support and gainied us two challenge grantsfrom Seedmoney, which brought our total fundraising to $5600. Onehundred percent of these dollars goes towards supporting giving gardenersthrough our Sprouts and Small Grants programs. Our very sincerest thanks…
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Annual Seed Distribution Gathering!
The Seattle Giving Garden Network invites all giving gardeners to its annual Seed Distribution Gathering. We have hundreds of seed packets that include vegetables, herbs and flowers to be collected for planting in giving gardens around the city. When? Saturday, February 11, 2023 10:30 am Where? Montlake Community Center, 1618 East Calhoun Street, Seattle 98112 There will be a short program of speakers at…
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Sprouts Growing Tomatoes
On April 28th the Sprouts volunteers transplanted 1000 tomato plants and placed them in the hoop houses. We put netting around them to keep the rabbits out. For the last three weeks the weather has been so cold that we have mostly kept the hoop houses covered. Now, as the weather turns warmer, we can uncover the hoop houses to…
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Ballard Sprouts March 2023 News
Ballard Sprouts started planting seeds on Valentines day, 20 trays of 220 seeds each. During the very cold spell we kept the trays on the heating mats. Now we have planted another 20 trays and are just beginning to transplant the first seedlings into pots, 5 per pot.We will continue seeding, transplanting, fertilizing and caring for these plants until mid April…
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Winter Newsletter
Winter Newsletter — Check it out! The latest Giving Garden newsletter can be read here.
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December Appreciation
At SGGN we decided to make December a month of appreciation. Gardeners that grow to give do it from the heart. The hours of devotion to growing for others. You giving gardeners do an incredible job. Keep it up! Are you interested in in growing to give? Please email us for more information on how to get involved. info@sggn.org
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Seedmoney Donation Campaign Starts Nov 15th!
Our month long Seedmoney Donation Campaign starts Nov 15th. Your donation, whatever the amount, will fund programs that provide free vegetable starts, seeds and small grants to giving gardeners around our city. Last year these gardeners grew 42,000 pounds of fresh organic produce for local food banks and community feeding programs. Donate here: https://donate.seedmoney.org/7769/seattle-giving-garden-network-2022 to keep this work moving forward! Don’t delay! Our…
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Giving Garden lead
Pictures of the UpGarden Giving Garden
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Sprouts 2022
Kit and Phoebe working away growing sprouts for giving gardeners who grow for donation.
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Molbaks donation
Our volunteers Peggy and Tasia have been working hard at securing seed donations for February’s seed event. Our volunteer Rob had picked these up from Molbaks . Thank you Molbak’s for the donation.
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SGGN’s Summer Meet-up
Seattle Giving Garden Network volunteers got together to talk plans for 2022/2023
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Welcome!
New Volunteers are always welcome. Help us in our mission to provide fresh food to people who need it most.
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King County has cover crop giveaway
King County announced they have clover/pea cover crop seeds available to community p patches. Here’s a link to more information and an application: https://kingcd.org/2022/07/19/kcd-community-agriculture-cover-crop-giveaway/
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Some great growing
We are having a great season in the giving garden. This is in large part to the grant we received this spring from SGGN which we used to purchase moodoo for our existing plots and to revitalize a plot long underutilized. Some ups and downs. Bunnies nibbled our pole beans but we replanted and put up fencing, we had some…
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Thank you local companies for your generous seed donations!
We are so grateful to our many seed retailers and seed companies for their generous seed donations. Their contributions provide seeds to our local giving gardeners, and food banks. This year we also partnered with Northwest Harvest to distribute donated seeds across the state. Please support these wonderful businesses and seed companies that help make this happen! Email us at…
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One of the first harvests of the year!
Here are some photos from the giving gardens at Linden Orchard P-Patch
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Harvesting SGGN’s Ballard Sprouts
Beautiful Collards, Kale, leafy greens and pak choy about to get their first big harvest. Thank you Ballard Sprouts.
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Gardener Updates
Hello giving gardeners! Welcome to our new website! There’s a new look, but much is the same. A big change is the option for giving gardeners to submit a post on our site! To submit a post, visit https://www.sggn.org/garden-updates (or the link below in the footer at the very bottom of this site). Let us know what you’re growing, upcoming…
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Small Grants Available 2022
Unexpected expenses can take the joy out of a giving garden project. If your giving garden needs help with unanticipated expenses such as broken or missing tools, willing volunteers who need a better style of glove, a rotting side-panel in the raised bed, broken hoses, or a yard or two of compost, you can apply for reimbursement from Seattle’s Giving…
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Giving Gardens really are productive–
It’s important to tell the city what your GG has Donated. 2020’s harvest exceeded 20 tons of fresh, organic, local produce given to food banks and mission kitchen programs in Seattle. We know even more was grown and given because we provided seeds and starts to programs which do not participate in reporting to the city, including gardens supported directly…
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How Did Our 2021 Spring Greens Grow?
They grew very well indeed. (Thanks Delridge GG and Hillman City GG for sharing some harvest pictures.)
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October 16th, 2021 SGGN zoom at 10am.
SGGN Fall zoom meeting. If you want to attend, send an email to info@sggn.org to be included.
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2021 Update – SGGN continuing its mission
SGGN’s committed Ballard Sprouts volunteers grew and distributed more than 22,000 vegetable starts to Giving Gardens, Food Bank clients and kitchen gardens. An experienced and passionate gardener is requesting seeds for distribution to the Giving Gardens and food banks in 2022. Giving Gardeners were reimbursed their expenses for tools and rabbit fences. Despite the best efforts of local rabbits, the…
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Master Gardeners Growing Groceries Classes Registering for Spring 2021
Here’s a link to the schedule of classes and registration and to resource information. They’re dividing the classes into three presentations: brassicas and other greens, peas & beans, & warmer weather crops like tomatos, eggplant and cukes.
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Thank you, Seattle
Our deepest gratitude for the support of our crowd-funding campaign in November. Thanks to you the Sprouts planting and distribution program continues, the seeds from donors will be distributed, and we can help the Giving Gardens with maintenance needs. Funds are used for seed-starting mix, seeds, transplanting soil, and heating mats; additional funds are used to support the food bank…
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In English & Español: el Programa — cultivo de hortalizas; vegetable gardening, natural yard care
¡El Programa de Control de Malas Hierbas Nocivas del Condado de King, en colaboración con Seattle Public Utilities, está ofreciendo un taller gratuito en español sobre el manejo natural del jardín, cultivo de hortalizas y el control de las malas hierbas. Este taller es perfecto para los profesionales del jardín y el paisaje, y también cualquier otra persona interesada en…
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Winter Veggies
Some of the Gardens want to extend the veggie growing season so that produce can be provided (nearly) year-around. We agreed to try growing a limited number of starts for those who’re going to brave the rains, slugs, and grey days. We’ve started collards, two kinds of chard, tatsoi, and Winter salad greens including lettuces. These WERE ready to go…
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Seattle Giving Gardeners: 2019’s Greens likely ready April 5-6
Assuming the weather continues with mild temperatures and sunny afternoons the greens — Asian greens of various types, a couple of kinds of lettuce, chard and kale will be ready to pick up at the Ballard location the weekend of April 5-6. Hope your beds will be as ready as the plants will be: they’ll need some protection from unexpected…
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Sprouts Plans 2019 — What and When
The first six trays of sprouts -- there will be many more
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Spring Gather
Despite the recent snow and ice: we gardeners know we need to begin planting. We shared wisdom and seeds on February 16. Thanks to donors: Swansons, Skye, Bellevue Nursery, City Peoples, Urban Earth Nursery, Magnolia Garden Center, Burpee, Renee’s Garden and Johnny’s Seeds.
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Seed Donations for 2019
Sometimes we just need to roll up our sleeves: and November 17 we’ll be sorting about 5000 donated veggie and herb seed packets for distribution this coming spring. The packets need to be organized and their flaps (which tend to come loose) taped or re-glued. Then they’ll be distributed to the Giving Gardens at the Spring Gather, to food banks…
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The Challenge of Fruiting bushes and Trees
Here’s an update from one of our local heritage orchards — gardening is about hope and the chance to do things better next year 🙂
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2021 Ballad Sprouts grew more than 22000 vegetable starts!
Many of these were Spring and summer greens; others were warm weather crops such as squash — and 2900 of these were tomatoes. So how did your Giving Garden Starts produce in 2021? We were tired and are happy. Already we’re thinking about 2022. Within the next several weeks you should see a survey sponsored by the City of Seattle…
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May 18-20 Tomatoes (and last plant distribution of the year)
Confirmed: we’ll distribute tomatoes May 18-20, 2018 at the Ballard greenhouse location. We planted the seeds and this year they ALL sprouted: so please come and get them for their new homes. Some summer lettuces also remain. There’ll be a few boxes to use to take them to your giving garden, but it’s best to bring your own. And this…
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Information about tomato sprouts (and other warm weather starts)
This distribution is TENTATIVELY scheduled mid to late May each year, if nighttime temperatures continue to be 50 degrees farenheit. We chose to plant a diverse variety this year: in part because our summer weather is uncertain. Here’s what they are: TOMATOES: in general, plant out when nighttime temperatures are reliably at or above 50 degrees F. Apply about ¼…
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Greens, beans, squash, cucumbers & onions for pick up May 4th, 5th & 6th.
SGGN’s Sprouts second distribution for 2018’s growing season will be greens, beans, squash, cucumbers & onions over May 4th, 5th & 6th at the backyard greenhouse location in Ballard. Tomatoes will be ready approximately mid-May (when night time temperatures are consistently close to 50 degrees.)
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Tomatoes are a challenge in the PNW — we’ll provide starts, you grow them
SGGN will have tomato starts ready for the giving gardens, kitchen gardens, and food banks approximately mid-May, 2018. Despite the cold April weather, we have lots of starts, and lots of varieties including slicers (beefsteak, Money Maker, Siletz) cherry tomatoes: (red and yellow) paste and pasta varieties (San Marzano varieties). For those who’d like some tutoring before taking on the…
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2018 Sprouts ready April 6 for Giving Gardeners
To all the Giving Gardeners: plant starts are ready for pickup at the Ballard Greenhouse starting Friday April 6th at 9am and continuing until Sunday April 8th at 6pm. If you need to know where this is please ask! (We will not post the address on this public site.) There are 5 plants per pot. Take what you can grow…
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2018’s Starts – looking good
We are happy that Spring is near — here’s an advance peek at the work of our dedicated volunteers. Estimated time until they’re ready for pickup: another 4-6 weeks (depending on the weather, of course!)
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Seed Distribution for Giving Gardeners February 10 2018
at the Spring Gather. The Spring Gather will be near the Immaculate P Patch on Capital Hill in a room in the Lake Washington Girls Middle School. We are grateful that the Middle School has made space available for this event. Address: 810 18th Avenue Date and Time: Saturday, Feb 10th, 2018: 10 AM to Noon We will have seeds…
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SHOULD I pick those squash?
If you were growing summer squash: you know the season is over and that it’s time to be thinking about pulling those vines and composting them. My own winter squash, however, still have nice looking fruit and some decent looking leaves. When to harvest, and how to ensure long shelf life for the food bank clients? Fortunately, Territorial’s blog just…
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Three Greenhouses
The Ballard Sprouts, South Park’s Providence Regina House Food Bank, and a small back yard greenhouse grew more than ten thousand starts for Seattle’s Giving Gardens. 2017 should be a very good year. Thank you to all of the volunteers who planted, nurtured, transplanted and transported these wonderful plants.
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2017’s STARTS seeded by Sprouts volunteers
Volunteers have seeded lettuce, chard, tomatoes, peppers, kale and Asian greens for distribution to Seattle Giving Gardeners. Later there’ll be summer squash and cucumbers. When will these be ready to distribute? It depends upon the weather: our greenhouses are passive greenhouses but cozy, even on our snowy days. We’ll send a notice through the city of Seattle’s listserve when they’re…
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Resources — about compost
And, in particular, information about using coffee grounds in compost can be found at the WSU website.
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Wow — Over 12000 starts provided to giving gardens this year
Just in time for the Return of Summer Weather — Happy Growing every one
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Free soil testing for King County residents
The King County Conservation District will process up to five free soil tests (lifetime, per address.) To learn more (including how to send the samples and how to take a sample) contact the district. Worried about heavy metals? The Department of Ecology has an interactive webpage to check services available at your specific address.
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Permaculture education – Beacon Food Forest
We recently heard about these coming classes: Date: Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016 From 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. (Pre Registration Required) Early season vegetable seeds and plant cuttings propagation. Start some cool weather veggies, and start fruit shrubs from cuttings. Bring some home! For more info: http://beaconfoodforest.org/education/classes/start-your-garden-feb-2016/ – and – Fruit Tree Pruning with City Fruit and BFF Date: Sunday,…
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Late Tomato Blight can break the gardener’s heart
I haven’t seen it in my own gardens yet (and hope that I don’t this year, especially since it’s been so hot) but we DID just have some rain! There’s great advice at the garden hotline!
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A Giving Gardeners Plea: Dealing with Club Root (aka slime mold)
A Giving Gardener (who volunteers at several gardens) wanted to alert everyone to the challenge of club root. The gardener sent the pictures which we’ve uploaded and also shared research and experience with us. Susceptible crops include but are not limited to: rapeseed, mustards, brassicas, broccolis, the –chois, turnips, radishes, cauliflower, kale … We also asked the broader community what…
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The “New Normal…
Today’s Seattle Times had an interesting article by Janet I. Tu, “‘New normal’ Food banks much busier, despite better economy” that talks about the increasing number of visits to local food banks. While a lot of people think the economy has mostly recovered during last few years, this article provides some alarming statistics including: “In the Seattle area, some food…
