"Laughing all the way to the (FOOD) bank!"

The Sharing Gardens turned 17 years old on April 15th of this year! We began in the spring of 2009 at Alpine Park; then began gardening at our present site, in Monroe, Oregon in 2010; purchased the land and farmhouse here in 2013 and moved in once we finished renovations in the summer of 2014. It's been a journey with lots of bends in the road full of both challenges and blessings. This post gives a peek at how our project has evolved over the seasons and an overview of our current situation.

Here's our farmhouse before renovations (built in 1875, the oldest house in Monroe that's still lived in). Llyn is loading mint-straw into wheelbarrows to use as mulch/fertilizer on the Gardens located behind the farmhouse.

Here's our dear home after renovations. We planted the Red Hot Pokers in the foreground underneath where that mint straw had been.

We founded the Sharing Gardens under the belief that food should be a basic right; not something to be bought or sold. We are a 'community garden' but, instead of separate plots, with a membership fee, we all garden together (no fees). The food that is grown is shared amongst the people who support the project, while the surplus is shared through local food charities.  Overview and Benefits of the Sharing Gardens

In the beginning, we were almost the only gardeners in our area sharing produce with the food charities. Much of the produce that our local Pantry had for distribution was rather nasty rejects provided by grocery stores for the tax-write off they received in exchange. Some produce was purchased new but it was still of low quality (and never organically grown).

Here's Llyn with our very first donation to the S. Benton Food Pantry. More than half of it actually came from our friends who had more established gardens.

Once we got established, our donations grew to about three tons per year! Here we are in the early days with one week's lettuce donation to Local Aid in Junction City.

Gradually our donations grew and grew till, at our peak, and for several years that we measured everything the garden produced, we were growing about 6,000 pounds per season! All shared freely. Nothing ever sold. (Actually, for three seasons we had a CSA - community supported agriculture where people paid an annual subscription and received a box of produce each week for half the year but we dropped the CSA as soon as possible as it never felt aligned with our deepest beliefs that no one should ever be charged money for food. Llyn's mother has made some of Llyn's inheritance available prior to Judy's passing. This is our primary source of income these days. It is our belief that our generosity will be supported and so far this has held true.)

Generosity creates abundance...Service Learning students sharing in the harvest at the end of their volunteer session.

Within a few years, other gardeners began bringing their surplus produce. Also, produce was gleaned from farmer's markets and other sources. Eventually this support grew to the point that, during peak garden-harvest time (August - October) our closest Pantry has far less need of our donations (sometimes it's hard to find room on their distribution tables!)  

Tomatoes, cantaloupe and greens donated to the Pantry in 2015.

I overheard a nice comment at the Pantry just the other day as I helped restock the produce mid-morning. A customer said that she's been to many, many Pantries over the years but that the one in Monroe is her favorite because they/we "always have the freshest and most abundant produce". She said, "I don't want to just be eating canned and processed foods. I so appreciate that I can get a variety of fresh produce here!". It's gratifying to know that the Sharing Gardens has been such a big part of bringing fresh produce to Monroe's Food Pantry.
 

By the time our peppers and tomatoes are coming on strong, other local gardeners have lots to donate to the Pantry, so the volunteers in the gardens, Chris and myself, receive the majority of the Garden's  abundance in peak garden times.

We've had a fluctuating team of volunteers through the years. Sometimes as few as one or two per session; at most we had about six people join us. More than that proved too difficult to manage. Mistakes were made, and Chris and I spent so much time overseeing the volunteers that we didn't get to do much gardening or socializing ourselves on volunteer days! So now, from mid-spring to late fall, we have two sessions a week with 3-4 volunteers each time and that seems to work quite well. 

Nowadays we average two volunteer sessions per week, with three to four people per session.Volunteers help with whatever needs doing and share in the harvest. Volunteering and Garden Location

 

Because we're not in competition to get  our crops to market, the Sharing Gardens produce is 'slow grown'. We don't use commercial fertilizers to hasten growth (which can lead to an increase in water-weight, lower density of nutrients and the plants' greater susceptibility to diseases and pests). Our produce is sweet, tender and full of vitality.

From the beginning, the Sharing Gardens has always had a focus on education; we love to share what we have learned from experience (Chris has been an organic grower for close to 60 years!) and Llyn has been a writer from her earliest days; we make a great team! Our educational outreach goes first and foremost to the people who join us in the Gardens through the volunteer program. These folks get hands-on training.

 Our website reaches hundreds of people daily, worldwide. This spring, the site surpassed the million-views mark and shows no signs of slowing down. With close to 300 published posts, we've covered a lot of topics! The majority are "How to" articles based on our first-hand experience. The site has always been (and will always be) 'ad-free'.

Chris and I have both spent time over at Monroe's Pantry (it shares our same parking lot) talking with people and teaching them about healthy eating. We encourage people to try new fruits and vegetables, suggesting ways to prepare them.

A sign we posted with our kale donation...

Striped German tomato

A funny story from the early days:

Because Heirloom tomatoes often 'look funny', with deep lobes and unusual colors in many varieties, Pantry-goers were leery of trying them. They would reach for the uniform-sized, pale red varieties with a mealy consistency and no flavor because 'they were familiar'.

For a few weeks, Chris and I stood at the Pantry with pocket knives in-hand and we'd slice off samples our our tomatoes for people to try. 

At first people hesitated (and to be fair, some varieties with greenish shoulders don't look too appetizing!). But their responses were so gratifying each time they got over their fears. "Wow, that's amazing!", "That's how tomatoes are supposed  to taste!" "I haven't had a tomato that tasted that good since I ate out of my grandma's garden!".

We knew that we'd successfully converted the crowds when, after a few weeks we saw them by-passing the anemic commercial toms and overheard them arguing among themselves about which of the Heirloom varieties we'd provided were their favorites. Wonderful!

Though we love the knobby, strangely colored varieties we grow, to the uninitiated they may seem ugly and unappetizing.

Another way that we are teachers in our community is through the Service Learning program offered through Oregon State University (OSU). Students volunteer for four hours per term in a project relevant to their studies and, after completing a presentation to their classmates receive college credit.

Since our first groups came in 2012, we have been blessed by the students' presence (and labor!) as we pass on a bit of knowledge about growing food without the use of chemicals, commercial fertilizers or animal by-products. Service Learning: A new model for our schools?

The Q&A session with snacks is always a highlight of the Service Learning mornings. We love to feel their enthusiasm for making the world a better place and it feels good to be drawn-forth and queried for the knowledge we've gained over the years. (Pic is from our cozy living room).

Students help us with a variety of tasks. Here they are weeding a garlic patch.

Sam is sifting soil in the foreground; students are prepping beds along the side while Llyn and Margaret plant seeds in the back.

Shelling dried beans is a favorite activity for students (and our volunteers) alike. Very meditative and satisfying.

Some kids get into the big-muscle activities (like turning compost). We sure appreciate their help!! (For more great pics and a deeper explanation of OSU's Service Learning program:  Service Learning: A new model for our schools?)

We grow almost 100% of our own 'starts' and share hundreds of plants in the community each season through school-gardens, recipients at the food pantry and other local gardeners. We like to support folks who are growing food to share (not sell). 

Early years...2011 'starts' (lettuce, sunflowers, cabbage and more...)

Lua and Llyn with a fraction of the 'starts' we've donated to her amazing school gardens. Luckiamute Charter school garden program. Lua has developed a program that goes from K-8th grade in which the students get hands-on learning about gardening and harvesting fruits and vegetables; growing native plants and supporting wildlife. The students learn how to prepare the foods they grow (along with other healthy ingredients) for tasty, simple snacks that expand their 'food vocabulary'. Lua is amazing!

We grow, process and save almost all of the seeds we use in the garden. This is a major focus of our teaching-posts. Because of the 'economy' of seed production, one seed can generate literally thousands of offspring. To learn more:  Basic Seed-Saving on a Small Scale

Part of our 2025 kidney bean and blue corn harvests ready to finish their drying process in baskets on shelves above our wood stove. These beans and grains can be eaten and/or used to grow future crops. The 'economy' of seeds..."From the one, many...".

We always have way more seed than we can use and share through various networks. 

Part of the seeds that we grew and processed ourselves in 2025 and donated to the Agrarian Sharing Network  - a wonderful, regional network equally dedicated to keeping our food-system commercial-free.

We continue to develop low-tech, small-scale methods for saving storage crops such as dried corn, sorghum, amaranth, and dried beans to help feed us through the leaner months when gardens are not producing as abundantly. Local food: Grow your own beans and grains 

Heirloom corns come in many colors. Corn is "promiscuous" and cross-pollinates easily. Here are crosses between Hooker's Blue and Golden Bantam. Grow Your Own 'Blue Corn'

As supply chains for commercial fertilizers tightened with the onset of war in the Middle East this past winter, we felt such gratitude that our methods of veganic agriculture continue to serve us well. Locally Sustainable Gardening in the Face of Supply-Chain Shortages

This is our eighth season without purchasing any commercial fertilizers or animal by-products (bone meal/blood meal etc), and without using animal manures for fertilizer. 

The majority of our fertility comes from: composted leaves, lawn-clippings and kitchen scraps. We also use ashes and coffee-grounds. We've begun experimenting with comfrey tea too (more on that to come).  

People often comment that our plants seem to be "glowing from within". We feed the soil and the plants take care of themselves! Because our food isn't forced to grow quickly (no commercial fertilizers), the plant cells are thicker and the plants are more resistant to disease and insect infestations. 

We are able to grow abundant crops without commercial fertilizers and animal by-products or manures. For a detailed description of our methods: Making Your Own "Veganic" Potting Soil in Your Greenhouse Paths - Using Worms (Broccoli and peppers in the foreground with corn in the rear. The red plant is a volunteer 'Hopi red-dye amaranth' which is edible and we harvest, dry and grind it for use in cooking.)

Another part of our mission is to encourage more people to live in a spirit of generosity, reciprocity and trust that, the more we shift from a 'transactional' (buying and selling) mentality to a 'gifting', relational ecology, the healthier all of us (and the natural world) will be. In this spirit, we maintain another website that is full of uplifting examples of the power of sharing, generosity, and caring for Creation. To visit the site: All Things Sharing

We feel incredibly blessed to be on this garden journey and look forward to continuing on this path of growing and sharing. Thanks for coming along!

Sharing Gardens founders, Chris Burns and Llyn Peabody in our front yard kale patch, 2017

 

Spring has sprung! Here we go again...

Greetings dear friends, near and far. Spring has sprung here in Oregon! A few weeks ago we had a flush of sunny days in the low 70's-F and it made everything surge into growth-mode! Fruit trees are blossoming, bulbs are blooming, grass is growing (which we harvest and use for mulch and to create compost in our greenhouse paths: LINK). Though winter isn't entirely over yet, it feels good that the seasonal wheel is turning toward warmth and longer days. (Image: apple blossom behind our farmhouse).

Rainbow over The Ark greenhouse.

This post contains several articles we hope you will find relevant to our times: Info on building a small greenhouse out of a metal carport frame; How to build a bean tipi/teepee and an organic solution to slugs. 

Two teepees in front of our greenhouses; ready for bean planting.

The opening article is a deviation from the usual "How To" posts on this site and addresses the enormous challenges of our times from a Gandhi-an, solution perspective. We hope you will find it inspiring.

Image by Llyn Peabody

Lastly, if you are local to our town and would like to join us for a season of food-growing/seed-saving/food-preservation fun, there's a link to our volunteer page too. (Oh, and don't miss the short, sweet, uplifting video at the very end; a little wisdom from Andy and Opie Griffith)

Volunteers sifting mushroom compost.

At this time of world upheaval, environmental destruction and division among people, it is so good to hear coherent, wise voices, guiding us in ways that will help us heal the world. Nipun Mehta is one of those voices. He is the founder of ServiceSpace, a global ecosystem working at the intersection of technology, volunteerism, and a culture of generosity. Click here for an introduction to an article he wrote that explores the need to balance our activism/protesting (10%) with positive, creative actions (90%): Science of Soul Force: How Your Heart Changes the World. Brilliant!

Organic Solution to Slugs - Iron Phosphate: If you live in a moist climate like the Pacific NW, slugs and snails can be so destructive and disheartening! This post outlines our journey from the beginnings of our garden here in Monroe (2010) when whole rows of lettuce were consumed or damaged beyond recovery in a single night (!) to the present-day when we hardly ever see any slugs or snails in our gardens at all. If you don't want to read the whole post, the solution we found is: iron phosphate pellets (coated in something like oat-flour) - commercially known as Sluggo. It basically constipates the gastropods, disrupting their reproductive cycle.

Carport-Frame Greenhouse Design: Current world upheaval is catalyzing a resurgence in interest in growing ones own food. Having the ability to start seedlings at home and grow them to the point where they can be transplanted outside will give you a real jump on the season and it can be incredibly empowering (not to mention fun, and healing to one's nervous system!). All of our greenhouses have been positioned directly on the ground and we've built raised beds within them. We use saw-horses and slatted tables to start seedlings in the spring which are removed in time to plant in the beds later in the season for warmth-loving crops like tomatoes and peppers. An efficient use of space! This post will walk you through the step-by-step process of turning a metal carport frame into a sweet, functional greenhouse!

How to build a Bean Tipi/Teepee: In recent years, the Sharing Gardens have shifted the types of crops we grow towards a greater emphasis on storage crops like dried corn, sorghum and beans. Pole beans can take up a lot of space and resources if you trellis them in a straight line. We've found that growing beans on tipis is a very efficient use of space. Another advantage is that tipis can be disassembled and stored out of the way in the winter and then set up in a new site the following season. They also look great and make a fun hiding place for kids in summer's heat. Enjoy!

Potato harvesting at the Sharing Gardens

Volunteering and Garden Location: Participating at the Sharing Gardens is more than your typical volunteer experience. We welcome share-givers (volunteers) to share in learning how to grow food without chemicals or animal by-products to create fertility in a spirit of mutual generosity.

If interested, participants will learn about the full seasonal growing cycle: from planting seeds, growing them out, harvesting and preserving food, and saving seeds for the future. 

 

Everyone who contributes to the Sharing Gardens, whether through time, money or materials, shares in the the harvest. There is a wonderful feeling of camaraderie and closeness that develops amongst the people who help grow and harvest the food.  Our surplus fruits and vegetables are donated to local food charities. 

We have a limited number of spaces open for share-givers for the 2026 season. If you'd like to learn more, click here and be in touch.

Andy and Opie: Generosity, Charity and Being Selfish: The Andy Griffith Show often dished up some poignant lessons about being a good person in the world. Here's a precious little clip where Andy wrongly accuses Opie of being selfish. A great message overall...(and as gardeners who rely largely on worms to help us create compost for soil fertility, we especially enjoyed Opie's perspective on life as a worm!). (LINK) 

The Sharing Gardens is a registered non-profit and tax-exempt organization. We exist entirely through donations. If you have found benefit from our project or our site, please consider making a donation through PayPal. A receipt will automatically be provided for your records.

Service Learning: A new model for our schools?

Greetings friends of the Sharing Gardens, near and far! It's been over two months since we last posted. Spring-time planting can be all-consuming but we hope you'll find the wait has been worth it.

Since 2012, the Sharing Gardens has partnered with Oregon State University to offer Service Learning experiences for their students. Through this program, students receive college credit for volunteering in the community and making a presentation to the rest of their class highlighting what they learned. Their participation in Service Learning typically counts for about a third of their grade. 

"Service learning integrates meaningful service with reflection to enrich the learning experience. A form of experiential learning, it provides a hands-on opportunity for students to make a difference while applying what they’ve learned in their classes." 
Quoted from OSU - Service Learning webpage 

Planting seeds.

A Service Learning group consists of four to six students for four hours. Our groups have always come from either a class on Soil Science or Sustainable Living so their experience is relevant to their studies. 

A typical group has four to six students. Often they will take home plant 'starts' for their own gardens.

Chris and I always feel incredibly grateful for the amount that gets done when the students come. We typically reserve the 'big stroke' projects for these helpers. For example, they have helped us with planting, turning huge compost piles and distributing the compost and mulch around the gardens but we try to make it fun and educational as well so we often include other hands-on gardening projects such as planting seeds and 'starts' and have them harvest produce and process dried beans and grains. 

Planting: 

Amy, planting onion seeds.

'Potting-up' tomato starts.

Blueberry bushes planted in 2014 now yield 2-gallons of berries or more, each year.

Tree-planting in 2014. Those slow-growing red maples are 4' tall today.

Sprouted corn finds its new home in the ground. Guideline strings help students keep the rows straight.

Teamwork makes any project more fun.

Turning compost piles:

Some groups especially enjoy the vigorous demands of turning compost piles.

There's something very satisfying about moving a big pile of material from one spot to another. By turning the piles, we introduce oxygen which causes them to cook down faster and be ready to use in the Gardens.

A job well done!

Distributing mulch and compost:

Every autumn, members of our small town bring us trailer-loads of leaves. Students help distribute them as mulch. These gals loaded leaves into carts...

These gals dragged them using tarps. Over the winter, these leaves break down and feed the soil for spring plantings.

 

Many years, students have spread wood-chips around our fruit trees. These keep the soil temperatures and moisture levels even. 

When we don't have enough wood-chips, we mulch our trees with leaves.

Grass clippings provide the same functions as wood-chips for our annuals (soil temperature and moisture moderation). These are baby sorghum plants.

Compost, after being loaded into buckets is carried to where it's needed. In this case we were preparing the ground to plant cucumbers and winter squash (both are heavy feeders).

Autumn clean-up:

Our autumn groups help with putting the gardens to bed. Most plant-material goes back into the compost piles to decompose over winter...And the cycle starts again.

A whole long row of pea-plants filled this garden-cart to overflowing!

 
In addition to the 'big-stroke' projects, we try to keep things fun and educational as well:

Chris teaching about planting seeds in tofu containers.

Sifting compost is a relaxing step that helps us build our potting mix.

We grew a lot of tomatoes that year (over 200 in the garden! and an equal number of 'starts shared in the community). Here, students were learning how to transplant them to bigger pots.

Harvesting produce:

Apple-picking in the misty autumn...

Everyone seems to enjoy the fun of digging potatoes!

Harvesting lettuce in the spring.

This group harvested and bagged all that lettuce for us to donate to a food pantry.

Processing dried beans and grains:
 

In the fall there are lots of dried beans to be pulled of the vines, shelled, winnowed and stored for winter soups.

More bean-processing. There's something ancient and deeply satisfying about these hands-on methods of growing and storing food.

In the fall, students all harvest winter squash (pictured: Sweet Meat squash)

A typical session includes Introductions: so they understand the philosophy behind the Sharing Gardens and we get to know them too. We then move outside for about two hours of focused garden-time. By this time the students have built up, both an appetite, and a load of questions about our philosophy and methods so we traipse back into our cozy farmhouse for a snack and Q&A. 

A recent group enjoying popcorn and herbal tea/lemonade during our Q&A session.

They ask many important questions, ranging from the practical, to the philosophical, 

Students ask great questions like: "How do you grow so much food without commercial fertilizers, manure or animal by-products?". This explains our methods: Making Your Own "Veganic" Potting Soil in Your Greenhouse Paths - Using Worms

 

The Sharing Gardens isn't only about gardening...we are also modeling a philosophy of generosity. This video by Alecia Renece sums it up beautifully: LINK: the only way to live an abundant life

Sometimes students experience their first contact with wild animals in our Gardens. Here, a student lets a baby garter snake flow through her hands.

Typically we'll have time for one more pulse of activity in the gardens. We always end by sharing with them fresh-harvested produce and plant 'starts' (if we have any) for those who have garden access where they live. 

Students receiving freshly harvested produce from the Gardens. Many of them try new foods for the first time...

 

...or find that veggies they never liked before taste much better when grown organically.

 “Students gain … community-building opportunities with both the community partners and with one another,” said Assistant Professor Natchee Barnd, who teaches several service learning courses in the College of Liberal Arts. “The students consistently report these activities as the single most memorable and impactful experiences of the class. They are able to concretely apply their learning to ‘real world’ situations and contexts.” 

This group had a great time! Can you tell?

We are so grateful for how much the students contribute to the cultivation of the Gardens but our greatest joy comes from meeting them, many of whom sincerely want to help the world become a better place. This gives us hope and a sense of meaning and purpose in what we do. We're planting seeds, not only to grow food but in the hearts and minds of those who feel touched by the Sharing Gardens Mission.

"I had SO much fun with this project. Chris and Llyn were great communicators and seemed genuinely delighted to have us there. We enjoyed their wealth of knowledge, patience, cheerfulness, and willingness to teach." 

"Honestly, I wish more student-groups could do the Sharing Gardens. It was extremely fulfilling and fun, and I learned a lot about soil. I think adding more partners like Chris and Llyn would increase students' engagement in the community as well as their understanding of soil health and what a healthy, productive garden looks like." 
Olivia - Service Learning student - May 2025

Olivia (right) has continued to volunteer in the gardens since completing her Service Learning assignment. She even enrolled a friend (who wasn't in the class but thought it sounded fun). We appreciate her cheerful willingness to do whatever is needed and her curiosity in learning the ways of the Sharing Gardens. (I think she also likes the free veggies we send home with her and Milan at the end of each session <smile>).

Olivia, laying Golden Amaranth out to dry.

 

Olivia's friend, Milan - trimming garlic.

Since 2012 we've hosted 55 groups (over 300 students)! We hope this partnership continues for many years to come! Video made by a Service Learning student in 2017 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if all our school systems integrated 'service learning' into their curriculum?