Free 7-Lesson Gardening Course

to Grow Your First Harvest

with Confidence

even if you’ve never gardened before

Start the Free Course!

Get the foundational skills you need to grow herbs, vegetables,

and edible plants with confidence, even if you have never gardened before.

Free 7-Lesson Course

Delivered Over 2 Weeks!

Who This Course Is For

If you’ve ever thought:

  • “I want to grow food, but I don’t know where to start”

  • “I don’t have a big yard, is gardening even possible for me?”

  • “I’ve tried gardening before, but it felt confusing or frustrating”

By the End of This Free Course, You’ll Have Clarity on How to:

  • Determine what kind of garden works best for the space you have

  • Understand how to prepare soil so plants can actually thrive

  • Grow a selection of herbs and vegetables indoors or at home

  • Plant and transplant vegetables using different starting methods

  • Identify and address common issues with watering, fertilizing, and growing conditions

  • Understand techniques that support healthier plants and more productive harvests over a season

What You’ll Learn in This Course

This course includes 7 written lessons, accompanied by email introductions over the course of 2 weeks, so you can learn at a comfortable pace and apply what you learn right away.

Lesson 1: Planning Your Garden

Learn what you can realistically grow based on light, space, and lifestyle. We’ll cover:

  • In-ground vs. raised beds vs. containers

  • Matching garden size to your time and energy

  • Choosing a setup you can actually maintain

Lesson 2: Preparing Your Planting Medium

Understand what plants really need to thrive. You’ll learn:

  • Basic soil principles and amendments

  • When soil-less mixes make more sense

  • How to avoid common beginner soil mistakes

Lesson 3: Growing Herbs and Vegetables Indoors

Perfect for small spaces or year-round growing. This lesson covers:

  • Indoor gardening basics

  • Supplies you actually need

  • How to avoid mistakes that sabotage indoor plants

Lesson 4: Planting from Seeds, Seedlings, Kitchen Scraps, and Cuttings

Explore multiple ways to start plants, including:

  • Germinating seeds successfully

  • Transplanting seedlings with less stress

  • Regrowing food from kitchen scraps and cuttings

Lesson 5: Watering and Fertilizing

Two areas where many gardeners struggle. You’ll learn:

  • How to avoid over- and under-watering

  • Fertilizer basics without guesswork

  • How to read your plants’ signals

Lesson 6: Tackling Common Garden Problems

Every gardener experiences challenges. Here are some common ones and how to deal with them

  • Reduce pest and animal damage responsibly

  • Address environmental issues that slow growth

  • Support plant health without harsh chemicals

Lesson 7: How to Get Bigger, Better Harvests

Bring it all together with techniques for:

  • Harvesting in ways that encourage regrowth

  • Making your garden work harder for you

What our students are saying:

  • " a great course for beginning gardeners" -Maria P

  • "covers the basics in an easy to understand way" -Judi C.

  • "I learned a lot in this course - great content!" -Caleb V.

  • "I was able to grow a garden for the first time!" - Chantal C.

  • "Helped me solve the problems I had been having with my garden" -Deborah D.

What Comes After This Free Course?

By the end of The Art of Food Gardening, you’ll have a clear understanding of how food gardens actually work: not just what to plant, but how to think through decisions about space, time, and seasonal rhythm.

From there, many students choose to take the next step based on their real-life constraints:

  • If you want a simple, flexible plan to get food growing this season, with clear guidance you can follow even with a busy schedule, you’ll be invited to continue with The Edible Food Garden.

  • If you already know you’ll be growing in containers or small spaces, you’ll have the option to go deeper with Container Garden Like a Pro, which focuses specifically on designing and maintaining productive container systems.

There’s no pressure to decide now.


This free course is designed to help you build clarity first, so when you do move forward, you choose the path that actually fits your life.

The Art of Food Gardening is part of the Green & Prosperous learning library, created to support thoughtful, sustainable approaches to growing food at home.

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Created by Kelly Pemberton, PhD — educator, researcher, and longtime food gardener.