Families 'Growing' Together

Learn to grow your own healthy food: Register now for Families Growing Together

Do you want to provide healthier food for your family? Fight the childhood obesity epidemic? Then take a “Step Up 2 Health” with Families Growing Together, a year-long gardening program for 20 Putnam families with children. The program which is funded by United Way of Westchester and Putnam, is open to 20 Putnam County families with children.

You and your children will learn how to design your vegetable garden, grow vegetables from seed, nurture your plants — and your family — and harvest your crops at their best.  Your children will have fun too, with gardening games and activities, hands-on science experiments and kid-friendly recipes your children can prepare for themselves.

Each family gets its own 20’ x 20’ garden plot for a year in the Tilly Foster Farm Community Garden (located on Route 312, across from the farm) in Brewster, NY.  Every month, starting October 25th, you and your children will learn something new about growing food and eating healthier. You’ll have a Master Gardener volunteer mentor with you every step of the way.

We’ll work with nature’s calendar: you and your family will prepare your garden in the fall, learn about plants in winter, and then start growing your crops in the spring.  And while we only meet as a group once a month, you can work in your garden as often as you like. Classes will be held either at the Putnam County Don Smith Campus in Carmel or in the garden at Tilly Foster Farm in Brewster. What do families receive when joining Families Growing Together?

• A family garden plot for the year at Tilly Foster Farm Community Garden in Brewster, NY


• Monthly classes in soil, starting from seed, selecting plants, designing a garden, planting the garden


• A Master Gardener volunteer mentor to guide you throughout the year


• Kid-friendly science learning


• Fun activity books for the kids


• Nutrition lessons and cooking demonstrations


• Lessons in weeding and organic pest controls


• Harvesting tips

The cost for the year-long program is only $40 per family, which includes all classroom and garden education, mentoring by Master Gardener volunteers and a 20’ x 20’ plot in the Community Garden.  For more information, call 845-278-6738.  Registration and all program information is available online: http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/putnam/FGT%20brochure%20four%20panel%20recruitment%20brochure%202012-13.pdf