Start Your Own Edible Garden

This lesson will begin by discussing the many great benefits of growing your own food. You'll discover why food from your garden is likely to have more nutrients than the food you can purchase from the grocery store, and then learn about ways to keep your costs down and options for designing your garden beds. By the end of the lesson, you'll be prepped and ready to begin planning your own edible garden!

Not sure what you want to plant in your garden? That's good! Because there are lots of practical considerations that you should be aware of before you make that decision. Considerations such as personal taste, time, space, and the local climate will all impact your plant selection. This lesson will discuss what you need to think about before planning your garden, and you'll start to learn the basics about climate zones and the types of plants that grow well in your area.

In this lesson, you'll look at strategies to keep your garden looking as good as it tastes! You'll begin by considering layout, style, flowers, and all of the little extras that make your garden unique. Then, you'll learn how to prepare your containers, raised beds, and in-ground gardens. The lesson will walk you through the steps of placing, measuring, and building your garden to give your plants a healthy place to grow and thrive. You'll look at some time-saving tips and learn when you should begin preparation and what method might be best for your garden.

A whole lesson devoted to soil! Don't worry—this is actually much more interesting than it sounds. What you learn here will prepare you to create the perfect foundation for your edible garden. You'll examine soil up front, because you'll need to have a good understanding of your garden soil before you begin planting the delicious crops that will be discussed in the upcoming lessons. This lesson will discuss your unique soil type. You'll find out about the drainage, pH, and nutrients in your soil. Finally, you'll learn about soil amendments to create healthy soil that will nourish your garden.

Leafy greens are easy to grow, but they can get bitter if you aren't careful. In this lesson, you'll learn how to keep your leafy greens healthy and delicious. The lesson will start with an introduction to some of the varieties you can find and the benefits of each. Then, you'll look at important topics that affect your leafy greens, like bolting and slugs. Finally, you'll learn a technique to extend your growing season that can be applied to lots of vegetables, not just greens—starting your seeds indoors!

Instructor-Moderated: A new session of each course begins each month. Please refer to the session start dates for scheduling.​

Self-Guided: Your course begins immediately after you enroll.​

Instructor-Moderated: Once a course session starts, two lessons will be released each week for the 6 week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends. You will interact with the instructor through the online discussion area. There are no live sessions or online meetings with the instructor.

Self-Guided: You have 3 months of access to the course. After enrolling, you can learn and complete the course at your own pace, within the allotted access period. You will have the opportunity to interact with other students in the online discussion area.

Instructor-Moderated: The interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes two weeks after each lesson is released, so you're encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release. However, you will have access to all lessons from the time they are released until the course ends.​

Self-Guided: There is no time limit to complete each lesson, other than completing all lessons within the allotted access period. Discussion areas for each lesson are open for the entire duration of the course.

Instructor-Moderated: Students enrolled in a six-week online class benefit from a one-time, 10-day extension for each course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.​

Self-Guided: Because this course is self-guided, no extensions will be granted after the start of your enrollment.