Fresh Start Smart Lab · Shared Experience
Flint River Fresh Backyard Garden Demonstration
Walk through a living garden. Explore different ways to grow. Taste what's in season. And imagine what could grow where you live, learn, work, worship, or gather.
The Flint River Fresh Backyard Garden Demonstration at the Sunbelt Ag Expo is a living expression of the Fresh Start Smart Farm Lab, a place where ideas about growing food come out of the classroom and into the garden.
Step inside the experience
This isn't a garden you're meant to simply look at.
- Walk through it.
- Touch it.
- Smell it.
- Taste it.
- Ask questions.
Explore raised beds, field production, greenhouse growing, water systems, themed gardens, flowers, seasonal vegetables and practical growing ideas designed to show that there is more than one way to grow.
Whether you have acres of land, a schoolyard, church property, a community lot, a backyard, or just enough room for a container, the experience begins with one simple idea:
Start where you are.
Come see what's growing
What you'll experience
Explore the Backyard Garden
Walk among raised beds designed around ideas you can actually use, from salad and salsa gardens to children's, pollinator, accessible and square-foot gardens.
Walk the Growing Fields
See seasonal vegetables, sweet corn, flowers and larger-scale production while exploring crop planning, irrigation and the rhythms of planting, caring and harvesting.
Discover New Ways to Grow
Step into the greenhouse and explore simple water-growing systems, containers and other approaches that challenge the idea that every garden has to look the same.
Follow Food to Harvest
See what happens when food is ready to leave the garden. Explore harvesting, handling and the connection between growing, cooking, eating, wellness and sharing.
Taste What's Growing
When the season allows, experience the simplest connection of all: see where food grows. Then taste it.
Grow your own fresh food
Flint River Fresh Backyard Garden Demonstration
Explore the Garden
Walk through our living garden and discover innovative ways to grow your own food. Taste seasonal produce and envision what you can cultivate in your own space.
Join UsLearn and Grow
Our garden serves as an outdoor classroom, teaching residents and students the skills needed to grow their own groceries and foster community connections.
Get in touchTaste What's in Season
Experience the flavors of locally grown produce. Our garden showcases seasonal crops that highlight the importance of fresh, healthy eating.
Taste TodayImagine the Possibilities
Visualize how you can transform your own environment into a thriving garden. Join us in making fresh food accessible for everyone.
Start Your Journey
Step inside the experience
More than just a garden
At Flint River Fresh, we invite you to engage with our gardens in a way that transcends mere observation. Walk through our raised beds, touch the leaves, smell the flowers, and taste the seasonal vegetables. This is not just about growing food; it's about cultivating a deeper connection to the earth and your community.
Explore our diverse growing environments, from themed gardens that inspire creativity to practical growing ideas that cater to any space, be it a backyard, schoolyard, or community lot. Each area is designed to showcase innovative methods of cultivation, proving that anyone can grow fresh food, regardless of their circumstances.
Join us in understanding the journey from seed to harvest. Witness the processes of planting, caring, and harvesting, and discover how these practices connect us to our food. At Flint River Fresh, we believe that every bite of food tells a story, and we're here to share that narrative with you.
Cultivating unique growth
One experience. Different communities.
You don't need to recreate our garden. That's not the point.
Every community is different. That's exactly why the possibilities are so exciting.
School Gardens
Empower students with hands-on learning through a student salad garden, fostering a love for fresh produce and teamwork.
Start a School GardenCommunity Meals
Grow vegetables for community meals at your church, creating a sustainable source of nourishment and fellowship.
Grow TogetherEmployee Wellness
Establish an employee wellness garden at your workplace, promoting health and collaboration among staff.
Wellness Starts HereNutrition Education
Connect a teaching garden with your healthcare organization to enhance nutrition education and healthy living.
Learn About NutritionNeighborhood Sharing
Transform unused spaces into community gardens where neighbors can grow and share food, fostering connection and sustainability.
Join the NeighborhoodExplore Possibilities
Discover how Fresh Start Smart Lab can adapt Farm Lab experiences to your community's unique needs and opportunities.
See What's Possible
See what's possible
A shared experience of the Farm Lab
The Backyard Garden Demonstration is a Shared Experience of the Fresh Start Smart Farm Lab.
Fresh Start Smart Lab Shared Experiences allow people to step inside the ideas, practices and tools of a Lab and experience what they look like when put into action.
The garden also serves as a living model for communities participating in the Growing Together Academy, our hands-on Farm Lab learning journey.
We provide the framework. Communities develop their own expression.
Because success isn't measured by whether your garden looks like ours. It's measured by whether your community discovers something it can grow, care for and continue together.
Bring Farm Lab to your community
What could growing look like at your school, church, workplace, college, healthcare organization, neighborhood or community space? Flint River Fresh collaborates with local organizations to tailor Farm Lab experiences to the people, space and opportunities already present in your community.
You don't need to launch a massive initiative. You don't have to start big. You simply have to start somewhere.
Come see what's growing. Then ask the question that starts everything:
What could this look like here?