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Learn to Grow Food with Grow-It-Yourself (GIY)

Give your family the most nutrient-dense,
local food that money can't buy.

Grow-It-Yourself (GIY) is now four seasonal courses:
Plan, Install, Grow, and Harvest,
each one 9 weeks,
each one giving you a real skill
and a visible result before the next season starts.

Start with GIY: Plan Your Garden.
You'll learn how to design a garden
that actually fits your space, climate, and life,
so by the time it's time to plant,
you already know exactly what goes where.

Plan Your Garden is open from December 8 through December 31.

Each course includes monthly live Q&A with us,
and a personal review of your garden plan before you move on.

Make Your Organic Food Garden A Reality!

No more solely relying on grocery stores.

No more overwhelm when it comings to planning your garden or keeping your crops alive.

No more excuses when it comes to growing your own food - we help make gardening work for you and your schedule!

GIY is for you if you have:

Spent hours on Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest dreaming about your food garden, but are too overwhelmed to even know where to start!
Tried gardening before but squirrels, rabbits, gophers, deer, aphids, and other pests have decimated your crops before you can even get to them.
Bought and planted costly fruit trees or bushes, only to have them die or not bear fruit.
Too much shade, clay soil, or a small space and can’t figure out how to grow in your space.
Become frustrated at rising food costs and availability.

A selection of root crops - carrots, parsnips, beets, and more!

In GIY you will:

GIY: Plan (Dec–Feb) - Design a garden that fits your space, no matter the size, sunlight, or soil.
GIY: Install (Mar–May) - Start your seeds and get everything in the ground.
GIY: Grow (Jun–Aug) - Keep it alive and thriving through the growing season.
GIY: Harvest (Sep–Nov) - Bring it all in, and set next year's garden up for success.

Take one course at a time,
or enroll in all four for the full year.

Bountiful backyard garden with a trellis, fruit trees, and mroe.

Ready to make your garden dream a reality?

Hear from Our GIY Members...

Woman looking at the camera giving a testimonial.

”I tried the DIY route and pretty much got no results. I didn't want to wait 5 minutes without results. I want results now. It's still a process, it takes at least a week. I tried GIY route and have harvested hundreds of pounds of produce and understand more of what I'm doing! And I know how to enjoy the process!”

- Sandy Steinfelt (Phoenix, AZ)

”There are so many people who have come to me for advice and have started a garden because of this gift of growing and what we've learned in GIY.”

- Kristina Hellmann (Louisville, KY)

Woman looking at camera, posing in front of plants.

WHAT'S INSIDE:

The Grow-It-Yourself (GIY) Program

Mentorship, Community, and a HUGE Harvest

Here's what you get:

A tablet with the GIY course and someone going through it.

A Self-Paced Garden Course

GIY offers a complete A-Z course on growing your at-home garden in a sustainable, organic way.

These four short courses will teach you:

How to design & build your permaculture (beyond organic) garden.
What foods should you grow (biggest bang for your grocery buck) and when to grow it.
How to maximize your yields by focusing on your soil, planting calendar, space, and sunlight (or lack thereof).

Modules Include:

Garden Design
Choosing Your Plants

Later on in the year we'll do ....

Seed Starting
Garden Installation
Transplanting
Maintaining Your Garden
Harvesting

1:1 Garden Mentorship

Every month, join us live for Q&A

These spaces are wonderful opportunities to touch base with a garden coach who is supportive, but can also give you clear direction on your next steps.

A map with photos of people and their gardens all over the United States.

Being part of GIY means being part of a group of encouraging online gardeners that share knowledge and likely live in your climate! We have gardeners in the community from all around the world.

The GIY Community is intentional about harvesting their own fruits and vegetables during a time of:

❌ Rising grocery prices
❌ Fragile food supply chains and
❌ Disconnection from the process of growing food

Communities can be the richest source of wisdom and inspiration so you can start feeding your family the freshest, cleanest, most local food money can't buy.

Bring your questions, garden troubles, and wisdom to the group!

Community

Resources handouts from the GIY program.

In GIY, you'll find a robust library of design templates, workbooks, and checklists to springboard your garden planning!

You will have access to a regularly updated archive of:

Raised bed garden plans to ensure you have a diverse array of plants to confuse pests.
Seasonal checklists to help you make sure that you are caring for your tools and the soil, and are preparing for unexpected weather.
A Seed & Plant Shopping Guide so that you know where to source non-GMO, organic, and heirloom seeds and plants.

Resources & Tools

A Plant Calculator, a proprietary tool to help you calculate the number of plants you need to grow to feed your family.
Your Garden Installation Day Checklist so that you can prepare all the materials and plants you need weeks before you break ground.
A printable "Planting Calendar" that helps you plot what days you will be starting your seeds, transplanting them outdoors, and harvesting your crops.
And so much more!

Seeds packaged for delivery to GIY members.

GIY Members receive seeds, plants and garden prizes throughout the year based on their participation in the program!

This takes the headache out of knowing where to source certain specific crops or seeds and helps you be motivated to grow and learn.

It's also a lot of fun receiving a handwritten note and a plant or seed in the mail from us. Each person, each garden is unique, and your interactions in GIY are tailored to be personalized.

Rewards & Incentives

PLUS...

SAGE, our permaculture garden planning and design app, is live!

GIY Members get access as part of the course.

SAGE simplifies and strategizes your food-growing process. It is a guiding tool so that you know:

How to design your garden
What to grow
When to grow it
Where in your garden you should grow it

As a result of consistently using SAGE, you will be able to harvest more food than you can eat!

SAGE: A Garden Design App

FAQs

Below are some answers to frequently asked questions. Don't see yours? Contact us at permaculturegardens@fgmail.com to ask!

If I'm not happy with this program do I get my money back?

Absolutely! But first, you're expected to participate fully in this course by doing the following:

Finished the self-paced course
Posted photos on the GIY Community
Prepared for and attend at least (1) one Zoom Call a month
Submitted an initial design of your backyard

If after having done the work that is required to earn you more than your investment in the program, you still feel that GIY has not paid you back in being able to grow your own food more abundantly, we will happily give you a FULL REFUND within 30 days.

For people who pay for the program but withdraw before 30 days, and do not fully participate in GIY (as stated above), we give a partial refund and reserve the right to decline their future participation in GIY if they ask to join the program again.

Ultimately, your garden progress depends on your sporting spirit and the work that you put into the program over the course of (1) one year.

What are my payment options?

Each seasonal course is $150 on its own. Or get all four, Plan, Install, Grow, and Harvest, for $396 as an annual bundle, a discount for committing up front.

Join a course anytime, you'll start with the current season and catch remaining seasons as they come around.

Can I cancel mid-program?

If you decide to cancel your GIY Membership within 30 days, you will receive a partial or full refund contingent upon your full participation in GIY (see above).

What if I miss a season?

If you're on the annual bundle and miss a quarter, you'll catch it next time it's offered, at no extra charge. No refund once you've completed a module.

Do you automatically renew my subscription?

No.

Can I gift this program?

Yes! If you're trying to keep GIY a secret gift until a given date, kindly do the following:

Purchase the course using your name and email address.
Email us at permaculturegardens@gmail.com to tell us the name and contact information of your recipient.

What a sweet gesture!

Do you have a version of GIY for schools or teams?

Yes! Click HERE for GIY Teams.

But What If...

I have a shady garden?

For 15 years, our backyard was a shady garden, and yet the majority of our harvest then came from the backyard! We've grown about 300 lbs of fruits and veggies annually in a tiny & shady townhouse! It can be done.

I live in an arid / desert climate?

Our best gardeners come from Arizona, Utah, and California. These are some of the dryest places in North America.

We also have a drylands climate specialist to help answer specific questions unique to arid climates. This hot climate led us to permaculture in the first place when we found out that it was used to "green the desert!"

I have too much pest pressure?

We have dealt with all sorts of raccoons, squirrels, deer, rats, you name it since we live in a developed suburban area that backs out into a strip mall. We have tons of pests, maybe not bears. And lots of mosquitoes.

In the end, it's a matter of setting up your ecosystem, so that the good bugs/animals outnumber the bad ones. And that's what we teach inside the program.

I don't have enough time?

The membership includes access to a time management program called "My Success Schedule," which helps anyone struggling with finding time for the important things in life.

Our research will SAVE you time from countless hours researching and finding the wrong answers!

We have duplicated our process with over a hundred families across America, Canada, Hungary, the UK, Australia, and even someone who lived on a boat!

If you have 15 minutes a day, that is all you need.

I don't have the money for this?

We totally understand that! The more food you grow, the less you will spend on groceries and restaurants.

If you have money for groceries, this program will pay you back your investment and allow you to even EARN money from which to live, provided you are willing to put in the work required. (See the first FAQ & Scroll down for a low-cost option)

Who Exactly Is GIY For?

If you...

Have space to grow in (even a tiny space)
Have a yearning to grow your own food and do it abundantly
Want to grow organically and in harmony with nature
Are in need of a garden mentor who has been in your shoes and can save you from newbie gardener pitfalls
Want to teach your children where their food comes from?
Desire to heal the planet and your body
Looking for the assurance of knowing you can grow food no matter where you live, even if the groceries shut down
Want the most local and nutrient-dense food that money can't buy

Then GIY is for you!

”I didn't have the time or mental bandwidth to sift through the conflicting information or what was going to work for my garden. In GIY, I have one place to go to find all the answers to problems that continue to arise in the garden, a community of like-minded gardens, and consistent 1:1 help!"

- Lisa Furr (Colorado)

”When I joined GIY, my backyard was absolutely transformed from a tiny little plot to an amazing growing space. A mere 15 minutes (which I treasure) in the garden is doable! Hope you sign up. It is life-changing!"

- Nicole Fainsan (Sterling, VA)

More from Our GIY Members...

It’s Time for You to
Make Your Garden Dream A Reality!

Meet The GIY Members Who Made Their Garden Dreams Into A Reality

See where Lisa goes to find solutions to garden woes.

Learn how Nicole installed her first garden in Virginia.

Hear about Sandy's experience growing in a dry climate.

See how Emily's kids eat vegetables they grow!

Take a tour through Laura's garden in Massachusetts.

What questions do you have about GIY?

Fill out the contact form below and we'll get right back to you.

We can't wait to help you grow abundatly.

Hi, We’re the Schauders!

Over the past ten years along with our six kids, we have embarked on a journey to grow our own food. You can learn more about our journey and why we do what we do here.

The more we grew, the better we felt physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

And, people started asking us what our secret was. So we started teaching (and continue to teach) at our local Title 1 schools.

Grow-It-Yourself (GIY) is the fruit of many years of research, testing, and implementation combined with the experience of visiting some of our clients in different parts of the United States. We wanted to offer something that we wished we had when we were just starting to grow.

Nicky and Dave Schauder in their backyard garden.

Horrified by the rising cost of groceries
Frustrated at not being able to find local and organic produce in the market
Mad about the fact that approximately 13 to 20 million agricultural U.S. acres are treated with 18.7 million pounds of glyphosate annually (Data from the EPA)
Intimidated about growing your own food
Disappointed that each year the pests get to your veggies before you do
Wanting to grow more food than ever before

The Schauder family poses in their front yard garden.

Then join a program that makes organic gardening and all its complexities, simple and strategic for you!

We promise to help you step-by-step as you learn the lost art of growing your own food.

Together, we can help the climate crisis, build healthy soil, and feed our families.

We can't wait to see you inside GIY!

Grow abundantly,

Nicky & Dave Schauder

Join the GIY Program

And find yourself with an abundant, on-going harvest by next year!