Gardeners who give
Gardening takes effort. And getting tons and tons of fresh produce to area food pantries is no easy task.FULL STORY

Fun and gardening goes hand in hand for students
A group of boys squatted on the ground giggling and cheering as if they'd just found the world's coolest discovery. Perhaps they had. "Don't break it," one of them yelled.FULL STORY

Plant what you love in a kitchen garden, and don't forget to share your bounty
Not so long ago, wild black raspberries grew everywhere in this region. Nowadays, a teeny store-bought container of red raspberries will set you back a pretty penny.
Growing them, however, couldn't be easier, which makes them perfect candidates for gardeners who crave them.FULL STORY

Church grows food for needy families' shelves
Everything's coming up tomatoes at St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Mundelein.
There are little ones, big ones, plums, cherries, heirlooms, Big Boys, champions and Early Girls. You name it, somebody's growing it.FULL STORY

Girl Scouts get in the gardening groove
The green beans Linda Koss and her daughter Anna, a Girl Scout, picked from the Naperville garden plot looked good enough to eat.
In fact, they were deliciously tempting. Those little sprouts had a higher purpose, though.FULL STORY

Give from garden and win a prize
Enjoy visiting the Chicago Botanic Garden? Grow some produce and enter your name in a drawing for a free garden membership. FULL STORY

Donate extra veggies to Giving Garden
No matter how far ahead gardeners plan, they always seem to wind up with too many vegetables.
That’s perfect for area food pantries — they’re usually running short on supplies throughout the summer.FULL STORY

Loss of produce from farm hits pantry hard
Five tons of food disappeared in Naperville.Poof. All gone.
In the blink of an eye, thousands of pounds of fresh produce destined for 650 families who monthly rely on the Loaves and Fishes community pantry dried up this summer when developers took over Mayneland Farms.FULL STORY

Growing tomatoes can make you see red
With all the "What to expect when you're expecting" books floating around, how come there isn't one about birthing tomatoes? Because let's be honest, folks, for all its wondrous moments, the process has its perplexing points.FULL STORY

Sharing shows Batavia gardener's caring
Betsy Zinser really didn't think the food pantry wanted even more tomatoes. So she called. Just to check. "They said 'Yeah, they're the most popular thing.'" FULL STORY

Food pantry appreciates when gardeners lend a hand
On the rare occasions when the Helping Hands Food Pantry gets fresh produce for its clients, it's usually right in the middle of winter. FULL STORY

Get ready to dig in to Giving Garden campaign
Game on, gardeners! The Giving Garden program for 2006 starts this week, and we're committed to raising at least 75,000 pounds of fresh produce for our neighbors in need. FULL STORY

An intrepid gardener sets out to grow tomatoes upside down
Potting mix. Check. Tomato plant. Check. Two-inch shark-tooth drill bit. Check. OK, this is not the way most gardeners start off their growing season. FULL STORY

Directions for the homemade upside-down tomato planter
What you'll need: One tomato plant for each planter. Think smaller varieties or cherry tomatoes that don't produce long stems. I picked Burpee's Fourth of July hybrid. Its tomatoes average 4 ounces and start ripening around July 4. FULL STORY

Gearing up for the Giving Garden
It's spring, when a gardener's thoughts turn to ... squash, and peppers, and cilantro, and tomatoes. FULL STORY

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