Gardening

Browse these resources to learn more about the CalFresh Healthy Living, UC Garden Initiative.

• Coming Soon! Beginner's Guide to Garden Programming: Online Edible Garden Support Training*

• *This training course will be available in September 2026.

  This self-paced, online, edible garden support training is available for community members who are interested in learning how to support school or community gardens. Each module takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. Complete the modules in order or review them individually as needed. Training is available for the following topics:

  • An Overview of the TWIGS Curriculum
  • The Outdoor Classroom
  • Harvest Celebrations
  • Managing Groups in the Community Garden Space
  • Food Safety
  • Hosting Community Workdays
  • Tips and Tricks for Delivering Lessons
  • Modifications for Ages and Abilities
  • Preparing for a Summer Garden
  • Preparing the Garden to be Fallow
     

  This training supports the learning opportunities offered in the Creating a Garden Coalition Roadmap.

• Creating a Garden Coalition Toolkit

• The Creating a Garden Coalition Toolkit was developed to guide the creation and facilitation of a garden coalition to support school or community gardens. The framework was informed by best practices developed by CalFresh Healthy Living, UC Nutrition Educators and their community partners throughout the state of California, collected over the past 15 years.

  The toolkit provides quarterly guidance for garden coalition members. All resources in the toolkit are described in detail and located in the Creating a Garden Coalition Resource Index.

• School and Community Edible Garden Support Toolkit

• The School and Community Edible Garden Support Toolkit was developed in partnership with the UC Master Gardener Program. Contact your local UC Master Gardener Program to see if a UC Master Gardener volunteer is available to deliver a presentation to your school or community site. 

  The availability of UC Master Gardener volunteers to deliver these presentations will vary by county. Your local program may not have the capacity to deliver presentations from this specific toolkit; however, they may have other resources or workshops that support edible gardens. Contact your local UC Master Gardener program leadership to learn how volunteers can extend research-based knowledge and information on home horticulture, pest management and sustainable landscape practices of the residents of California 

  Presentations and handouts are available for anyone interested in learning more about the following topics:

  Planning to Plant: Seasonal selections, seeding, transplanting and garden bed design

  • Presentation (PDF)
  • Handouts
    • Planting and Harvest Planning Worksheet
    • Spring/Summer Garden Design Worksheet - English | Spanish
    • Fall/Winter Garden Design Worksheet - English | Spanish

  
  Water Management and Irrigation

  • Presentation (PDF)
  • Handout
    • Irrigation Puzzle
       

  Preparing for Planting

  • Presentation (PDF)
  • Handouts
    • Fertilization of Garden Soil
    • Planning Garden Workdays
    • Preparing the Garden for Planting

  
  Edible Garden Maintenance and Pest Management

  • Presentation (PDF)
  • Handouts
    • Identifying a Garden Pest - English | Spanish
    • Routines for a Successful Garden - English | Spanish
    • Examples of Damage, Evidence and Actual Pests - English | Spanish
    • Monthly Garden Routine Sign-up Sheet - English | Spanish
    • Weekly Garden Routine Sign-up Sheet - English | Spanish

  
  Harvesting: When, how, and food safety

  • Presentation (PDF)
  • Handouts
    • Handwashing in the Garden
    • Harvest Handout - English | Spanish
  • Additional Resources
    • Garden Toolkit (Partnership for Food Safety Education & Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation)

  
  Compost and Vermicompost

  • Presentation (PDF)
  • Handouts
    • TWIGS Worms Activity
    • TWIGS Compost Activity
    • Compost in a Hurry
    • Worm Feeding and Care Instructions
• Sustainability Resource Hub for School and Community Edible Gardens

• The resources in this section can be used by anyone who is interested in supporting school and community gardens. This includes volunteers, teachers, site staff, and garden coordinators. The intention is to provide concise documents, worksheets or checklists to achieve tasks that will help school and community gardens thrive. All resources in the hub can be found in the Sustainability Resources Hub for School and Community Edible Gardens Index.

  The resources are organized into the following categories: 

  • Creating a Garden Team for Support
  • Starting a School or Community Garden
  • Youth Leadership in the Garden
  • Garden Care and Maintenance
  • Communication Tools
  • Water Management and Irrigation
  • Planning Events in the Garden
  • Garden-Enhanced Nutrition Education
• Youth-led Gardening

• Youth-led gardening is grounded in youth engagement work, where young people have opportunities as leaders and decision-makers to build skills and explore interests that affect community change. Youth-led gardening involves young people as garden leaders supporting garden-enhanced nutrition education and school and community health through learning, working, and eating in the garden.

  At a school and community level, current research shows that participation in programs that support positive youth development, such as a program like youth-led gardening, leads to prevention of risk behavior and improvement in social and emotional indicators*. 

  The CFHL, UC Youth-led Gardening Guide provides ideas, examples, and processes to guide youth in teaching lessons from TWIGS, a garden-enhanced nutrition education curriculum, to younger youth. Other youth engagement resources can be found on the CalFresh Healthy Living, University of California's Youth Engagement webpage. 

  *Effectiveness of Positive Youth Development Programs. Youth.gov. https://youth.gov/youth-topics/positive-youthdevelopment/effectiveness. Accessed February 10, 2026.

• Garden and Nutrition Handouts

• From seed to harvest, gardening supports a healthy lifestyle. The following fact sheets provide information about the nutritional value of fresh fruits and vegetables and provide a few tips for food-based gardening. We recommend printing and distributing these materials at your next community event. 

  Seed to Harvest Fact Sheets 

  • Basil - English | Spanish
  • Cabbages - English | Spanish
  • Cilantro - English | Spanish
  • Leafy Greens - English | Spanish
  • Mint - English | Spanish
  • Parsley - English | Spanish
  • Peppers - English | Spanish
  • Rosemary - English | Spanish
  • Root Vegetables - English | Spanish
  • Summer Squash - English | Spanish
  • Tomatoes - English | Spanish
  • Winter Squash - English | Spanish

  
  Savor Your Harvest: A Recipe Guide for Home Gardening

  • Cabbages - English
  • Leafy Greens - English
  • Peppers - English
  • Root Vegetables – English
  • Summer Squash - English
  • Tomatoes - English
  • Winter Squash – English
• UC Master Gardener Program

• Learn more about the UC Master Gardener Program by visiting the UC Master Gardener Program homepage. To connect locally and learn more about home gardening, pest management and sustainable landscape practices find a UC Master Gardner Program in your area. 

  The UC Master Gardener Program has valuable resources to support school and community gardens on the following webpages:

  • Edible Gardening:  Online resources that support growing fruits and vegetables in California; Support for planning your edible garden, preparing for plating, caring for your vegetable crop, common vegetable garden pests and problems, harvesting and storing, cool vs. warm season vegetables and information on vegetable fruits and herbs.
  • Mulch: Information about the benefits of mulching, types of mulch and how to apply mulch
  • Pest and Weeds: Overview of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), key steps for pest control and pest control resources
  • Soil: Information about the composition of soil and impact a healthy garden soil can have
  • Climate Zones: Information about California’s climate zones

• CFHL, UCCE Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo highlights the joy and excitement youth experience as they harvest produce fresh from the garden.
• CFHL, UCCE of Alameda County supports garden to table programming at the South County Homeless Project, highlighting systems and environmental changes which increase access and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, while also encouraging an active lifestyle for adults and older adults.
• 5th and 6th grade student garden leaders at Hapgood Elementary share their knowledge and favorite things about their edible garden. CFHL, UCCE Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo provides an example of how youth can be engaged in supporting garden-enhanced nutrition education and policy, systems and environmental changes at their school.
• Learn how to plant a three sisters garden from CFHL, UCCE Central Sierra Cluster.
   

"What does a sustainable school garden look like? In our Grass Valley School District garden program, we have many community partners. We have Sierra Harvest. They provide an educator for our school gardens with weekly garden classes. Then we have community partners like CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE Placer and Nevada County. They supplied our school garden with curriculum, tools, soil, and seeds, they even provided alternative ways of growing for our smaller garden. It has been a long bumpy road to get this far with a hands-on garden education program, but I am feeling so much gratitude for each and every one of our schools and partners.” 
– Garden Educator, Grass Valley School District, Nevada County

Please email Karina Hathorn to share stories, photos, or other items you would like to see featured in CalFresh Healthy Living, UC's Garden highlights.