From our Friends at Grow Pittsburgh:

Fresh News from Grow Pittsburgh:

Join us for Garden Trivia Night

Test your garden knowledge and compete for prizes like a Goodlander Gift Card, Grow Pittsburgh merch, and seedling sale vouchers! This is a great chance to reconnect with friends near & far since folks can play virtually from anywhere! You can assure your friends & family that they don’t have to be farm nerds – there will be plenty of subjects covered, all with a loose garden theme.

Learn more and register today!

Grower’s Spotlight: Mahogany Thaxton

This Grower’s Spotlight features Mahogany Thaxton, a 2022 Braddock Farm workshare participant and a Grow Pittsburgh member. Mahogany grew up in the Pittsburgh area and is working to better her community through her career and life. Part of this has been leaving her full-time job in 2022 to pursue a Masters Degree in Library Science and pursuing urban farming. Hear from Mahogany about her passion to make a difference in her community through a lens of life time learning.

GP: What are some lessons growing food has taught you?

Mahogany: It’s hard! I knew farming was labor intensive but you really don’t realize just how physically demanding the work is until you’re doing it. It’s definitely given me an even bigger appreciation for farm workers and advocating for healthcare for everyone. Farming takes a toll on you physically and mentally.

I’ve also really enjoyed learning about the transformations in nature and stopping to appreciate parts of each plant. I’ve become obsessed with okra this year, it’s such a beautiful plant. And eggplant, the fruit is beautiful but the leaves are absolutely divine. They’re so soft and furry.

It’s been interesting to understand how vegetables and seeds are bred to produce specific plants. I really enjoyed watching crops that start out the same but grow into something completely different like Brassicas. There’s something beautiful in each crop and I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to see that.

Read the full Grower’s Spotlight

Partner Profile: Andrew Witchey – Dancing Gnome

Welcome to Grow Pittsburgh’s Partner Profile, a series we started to shine a light on some of the local businesses and organizations who partner with us to promote our mission and help gardeners in Pittsburgh

For this Partner Profile, we are highlighting Dancing Gnome Brewery. This past year we have partnered with Dancing Gnome and Camp Copeland for a Garden Tool Beer series. To wrap up this partnership, we wanted to highlight Dancing Gnome and its owner Andrew Witchey, to learn a little more about what inspired Andrew for this partnership.

GP: What is it that led you to partner with Grow Pittsburgh?

Andrew: Grow Pittsburgh carries a mission that is incredibly inline with our own goals as a business. I wanted to bring light to your work in educating the community on sustainability and how to partner with our native environment, rather than ignore it. It goes beyond just brewing beer or growing your own garden, though admittedly I love that straightforward aspect just the same!

Read the full Partner Profile

Final Garden Tool Beer: Bow Rake

Through our partnership with Dancing Gnome Brewery and Camp Copeland Studio, we bring you the last Garden Tool beer, Bow Rake. This 6.2% hazy IPA was brewed with North American Pilsner malt to showcase the effect the grain has on flavor and mouthfeel.

Head to our blog to learn about the beer and read up on how the Bow Rake can help you loosen up soil around vegetable roots and aerate the soil to prep for planting.

We’re Hiring: Come Grow with Us!

We are hiring for multiple positions for the upcoming 2023 growing season! There is a need for seasonal part-time and full-time staff to join our team. Browse through the job descriptions on the website and see if a role fits you or someone you know.

Learn more & apply

2023 Community Composter School Info Session
February 15 | 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm | Virtual
Community Composter School is an opportunity for folks who work with an existing compost site (often at a community garden) to become advanced compost managers and skilled compost educators.
REGISTER

How to Gather & Lead a Community Garden Team
February 21 | 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm | Virtual
Learn to engage the folks who will join your garden team as part of Grow Pittsburgh’s “How to Start a Community Garden” series.
REGISTER

Growing Mushrooms Indoors
February 25 | 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm | Garden Dreams
Learn how to grow and harvest your very own gourmet mushrooms indoors! In this hands-on workshop, we will go over the equipment and techniques needed for successfully growing mushrooms indoors. Participants will go home with their own mini oyster grow kit.
REGISTER

Community Outreach & Building People Power for Community Gardens
February 28 | 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm | Virtual
Learn to create a simple outreach strategy and set up multifaceted outreach routines specific to your needs, so that you can make your community garden as welcoming, accessible, energized, and well-supported as it can be.
REGISTER

11th Annual Seed Swap
March 4 | 10:00am – 2:00 pm | Carnegie Library Main Campus
Attention early birds! We will be releasing a new assortment of seeds every hour on the hour so you will have a great selection no matter when you can make it.
REGISTER

Seed Starting Workshop
March 18 | 10:00am – 11:30 am | Garden DreamsLearn the skills and tools that you need to start your own seedlings at home this year. Topics will include choosing the proper soil, crops, trays, pots, and lighting along with a hands-on seed planting activity
REGISTER