Where growing becomes farming
Farm Lab
Step inside the farm. See how it all comes together.
Seeds. Soil. Water. Growing systems. Crop planning. Irrigation. Plant care. Harvest.
Farm Lab brings those pieces together and lets participants experience how a productive growing space actually works. Through hands-on exploration, participants discover how farmers plan spaces, grow crops, care for the land, manage water, respond to the seasons, and move from planting to harvest.
At the heart of Farm Lab is our signature Shared Experience: the Flint River Fresh Backyard Garden Demonstration Site at the Sunbelt Ag Expo, a living outdoor classroom designed to let people step inside agriculture and experience it for themselves.
The shared experience
The Backyard Garden Experience
Don't just look at the farm. Step inside it.
What happens when you take the ideas behind growing food and bring them together in one living space?
You get the Backyard Garden Experience.
Anchored by Flint River Fresh's Backyard Garden Demonstration Site at the Sunbelt Ag Expo, this signature Farm Lab experience invites participants to walk through a working demonstration garden and discover how the different pieces of food production connect.
Participants don't simply stand on the outside and listen.
They walk, touch, observe, compare, ask questions, explore, and, when the season allows, plant, tend, or harvest.
Throughout the site, participants encounter different approaches to growing food, including in-ground production areas, raised beds, container growing, seasonal crops, irrigation, greenhouse demonstrations, flowers and pollinator spaces, and other features that help tell the story of a productive farm.
Each stop invites another question:
- Why was this planted here?
- How does the water reach the plants?
- Why are some crops growing in raised beds while others are growing in rows?
- What grows during this season?
- How do you know when something is ready to harvest?
- Could I do something like this where I live?
That is what makes the Backyard Garden more than a demonstration.
It becomes a living classroom.
Through this experience, participants:
- 1
Walk the Farm
Explore a working growing space and discover how its different areas fit together.
- 2
Meet the Crops
See what's growing and learn how season, space, and purpose influence what farmers plant.
- 3
Compare Growing Systems
Experience in-ground production, raised beds, containers, and other growing approaches side by side.
- 4
Follow the Water
Discover how irrigation and water management support healthy crops.
- 5
Get Your Hands in It
Depending on the season and setting, plant, tend, harvest, measure, observe, or complete another real farm activity.
- 6
Explore the Harvest
Discover how farmers know when crops are ready and what happens once food leaves the field.
- 7
Imagine Your Own Growing Space
See how farming principles can be adapted to a backyard, school, church, community garden, or small farm.
The take-away
Participants leave seeing agriculture differently.
A farm doesn't have to begin with hundreds of acres. It can begin with a backyard, a few raised beds, a community growing space, or simply the decision to start.
You didn't just hear how a farm works. You stepped inside one.
What you'll discover
See the system behind the harvest
Farm Lab helps participants understand that a productive growing space isn't one thing.
It's a system.
The Backyard Garden Experience makes that system visible.
Every Farm Starts With a Plan
Explore how crop areas, raised beds, pathways, irrigation, greenhouse spaces, containers, and other features are intentionally placed to make a growing space work.
Healthy Crops Start Below Ground
Dig deeper into the importance of soil preparation, soil health, organic matter, nutrients, drainage, and caring for the ground that supports our food.
Water Has a Job to Do
Follow the water and discover how farmers use irrigation and thoughtful water management to give crops what they need.
Farming Follows the Seasons
See how weather, planting dates, crop needs, succession planting, and harvest timing influence what farmers grow and when they grow it.
Planting Is Only the Beginning
Discover the everyday work between planting and harvest: watering, weeding, observing, maintaining, troubleshooting, and responding to what plants are telling us.
The Harvest Connects Everything
Experience the moment all that planning and care has been working toward, and begin exploring where fresh food can go next.
The Farm Lab kit + resources
Everything you need to continue the experience
Farm Lab works a little differently from some of the other Fresh Start Smart Labs.
Its signature "kit" isn't contained in a single box. The farm itself is the learning environment.
The Backyard Garden serves as the flagship living classroom, supported by practical educational resources that help participants understand what they're seeing, participate in the work, and continue exploring after their visit.
Hands-On Farm Materials
Depending on the activity, participants may work with seeds, transplants, soil, planting tools, measuring tools, irrigation components, plant markers, harvest materials, and other real-world farm supplies.
Farm Planning Resources
Simple planning materials help participants explore how growing areas are organized, where crops should go, how water reaches plants, and what needs to be considered before planting begins.
Seasonal Growing Resources
Practical resources connect participants with the crops, planting seasons, maintenance practices, and harvesting techniques demonstrated through Farm Lab.
Farm Management Learning
For older youth, aspiring growers, and farmer-development audiences, Farm Lab can go deeper into crop planning, planting schedules, harvest planning, farm maintenance, and basic production records.
Growing Together Academy
Ready to go deeper?
For communities ready to move beyond experiencing the farm and begin building their own growing capacity, Growing Together Academy is Farm Lab's deeper hands-on learning pathway. Through a guided, multi-session experience, participants learn how to plan, establish, grow, care for, and sustain a productive garden or community growing space, building practical skills and confidence they can carry back to their school, organization, neighborhood, or community.
Explore Growing Together AcademyExplore next step
Next stop: Kitchen Lab
Kitchen Lab turns fresh ingredients into meals, skills, and connection, with cooking workshops that turn fresh produce into simple, healthy meals.
Visit Kitchen Lab