At the heart of the OSU Extension Master Gardener volunteer program is something powerful: the idea that when we grow plants, we grow connections. This guest post, written by Master Gardener volunteer Sarah W. in Portland, is a shining example of that spirit in action.
While taking the Master Gardener training, Sarah began to apply what she was learning and applied it in the most generous way—by organizing her entire neighborhood block to garden together. Inspired by community-supported agriculture and grounded in the knowledge she gained from the program, she helped coordinate a shared vision: plant together, harvest together, and build deeper community ties through the act of growing food.
Sarah’s story is a clear reflection of the ripple effect the program can have—on individuals, families, and neighborhoods. It’s a reminder that when someone gains skills and confidence through the Master Gardener Program, they take those gifts into the world and plant seeds of change far beyond the classroom.
We’re honored to share Sarah’s story with you.
Why master gardening?
It’s a question I tried to answer repeatedly during the spring of 2024, as I attended Zoom class during kid soccer practice, puzzled out the calendar for every farmer’s market in the Portland Metro area, and marveled at the poised, knowledgeable, and involved perennial Master Gardeners I met at every turn. What was I trying to prove, and did I belong?
Indeed, the moment a few weeks ago before I pressed send on a spreadsheet garden planner covering my entire neighborhood, I wondered – is this why? Am I too much, or not enough?
My whole life, I’ve been what people indulgently call “a do-er”. I love a good idea, but more than that, I love plotting a good idea into being. I have also been called persistent – not to say stubborn – by those who love me. And my kids know that when I say, “five minutes until we go”, they can happily play for 15 while I chat up a new group of parents and lose track of time.
This is all to say that when my neighbor pitched the idea of a block-wide project where we crossed community-supported agriculture with a community garden spread across multiple yards, my husband correctly predicted I’d be in deep. He knows me.
The idea was simple. What if we each planted something different, and then brought together the harvest to share? Having just read about an inspired project in Los Angeles, it was an easy sell. The project formed quickly, based on the training fresh in my mind.
If any neighborhood was set up for this challenge, it was my little block, which hosted weekly line dances through COVID lockdowns and painted our street to commemorate the connection during those years. We’re a neighborhood where repeated gestures of kindness have created runners, and underground network that shoots up random acts of support you never thought to ask for.
Yet at its core, this project was about pooling individual effort for the collective – an ideal but challenging in the details. Nonetheless, we set off. At a potluck, we mapped individual plots into a single farm. On the south side of the street, better sun but smaller beds. On the north side, shade, but retirees who had time to build beds or move container tomatoes to track the sun. We calendared workdays, I ordered seeds, and we mixed fertilizer and pressed seeds into four-inch pots together. And yes, I emailed a beautifully color-coded spreadsheet where my eight-year-old and I mapped space, time, crop, and affection into a sharable format. So many things about this project are imperfect. But it’s an answer to the persistent question about why I became a Master Gardener. What kind of community is possible in this fast-paced and fragmented world? This week, it’s pak choi and kale thinnings. It doesn’t matter if we pool our plots for different reasons. When we arrive curious, open-hearted, offering care and whatever we have on hand – the connection follows.
Are you building community and connections through gardening? 2026 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Master Gardener volunteer program in Oregon: we would love to share your stories of community and connection. Please email leann.locher@oregonstate.edu if you’d like to share your story.
