This year, Bed #3 of the Demo Garden is in collaboration with the nutrition educators in the SNAP-Ed program. The goal of this bed is to see how much can be grown in a smaller space using SNAP benefits (EBT/formerly “food stamps”), since edible plants and seeds can be purchased with these benefits. The bed is divided in half, with $30 to spend on each half. This includes seeds, transplants, fertilizers, and any trellising that is needed.

In the last week of March, we planted lettuce, spinach, and radishes by seed. Luckily they survived the cold weather we’ve been having!

Into the third week of April, there is some growth and labelling in the garden!

More planting to come next week. The SNAP-Ed nutrition educators are excited to use the produce from the garden for their cooking demonstrations! We will be tracking the harvest yields throughout the summer to show how much a family receiving SNAP benefits could add to their diet through gardening.