FARGO — Imagine being able to harvest fresh produce weekly, make new friends from around the area and donate food to those in need all in one spot.
For many locals, that spot is one of several Growing Together community gardens in the Fargo area. Ten gardens located throughout Fargo spring to life each year, bringing community members together to tend gardens and learn about planting and harvesting.
Seven-year-old Sophie and four-year-old Esther help Bill Royce harvest potatoes on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at the Catalyst West Garden located at 1894 21st Ave. S. in Fargo.
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In exchange for pulling all those weeds (plus the multitude of other tasks a garden demands), members can take home a bountiful harvest of fresh produce weekly.
Founding Growing Together member Rosaline Swarray preps vegetables for selling at the community garden market on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at the Market Garden at 3600 25th St. S. in Fargo.
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Angie Nawkirk cuts freshly harvested beets on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at the Catalyst West Garden located at 1894 21st Ave. S. in Fargo.
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Currently, 259 members meet weekly to harvest from May through September, according to Jack Wood, Growing Together co-founder.
This season, Growing Together is projected to have harvested over 50,000 pounds of produce across all gardens, according to Wood. Teams at each individual garden begin in April with spring prep work, and people can also lend a hand in May transplanting plants at the greenhouse, then the work of planting and tending the gardens begins.
When it comes time to harvest, the produce is shared equally among team members who have put in at least 20 hours working at their garden location by the start of harvest season at the end of July.
After each team member at a garden has an received their equal share of as much of the harvest as they deem usable for them in a week, a majority of the rest of the produce is donated.
Heather Padmanabhan and Kerry Donnelly pick green beans and chat on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at the Arbors Garden located at 702 23rd St. S. in Fargo.
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Wood said the organization has donated over 4,000 pounds of produce this season so far to the New Life Center, the Hawley and Dilworth Food Pantries, Fargo Cass Public Health, Dorothy Day Food Pantry, Carlson Senior Center and the Arbors Food Pantry.
In the past 15 years, Growing Together has helped start nearly 20 independent gardens across North Dakota and Minnesota. Resources for those interested in taking part or starting up their own garden is located in a community toolkit online at
growingtogetherfm.org.
Christina Johnson laughs with other garden volunteers while harvesting pumpkins on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at the Gethsemane Grace Garden at 3600 25th St. S. in Fargo.
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Nora Strand organizes potatoes on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at the Gethsemane Grace Garden at 3600 25th St. S. in Fargo.
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Mary Ann Phillips chats with other garden volunteers while boxing up tomatoes on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at the Gethsemane Grace Garden at 3600 25th St. S. in Fargo.
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Karen Kooren waters plants on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at the Arbors Garden located at 702 23rd St. S. in Fargo.
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A pile of beets are freshly harvested on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at the Catalyst West Garden located at 1894 21st Ave. S. in Fargo.
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Laura Davidson and Breanna Corbin harvest ground cherrys on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at the Catalyst West Garden located at 1894 21st Ave. S. in Fargo.
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A pile of freshly harvested tomatoes lay together in the grass before getting organized on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at the Arbors Garden located at 702 23rd St. S. in Fargo.
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Kylie Edgington helps wash off freshly picked vegetables on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at the Arbors Garden located at 702 23rd St. S. in Fargo.
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Stephanie Frisch buries vegetable compost as fertilizer on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at the Gethsemane Grace Garden at 3600 25th St. S. in Fargo.
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Stephanie Frisch and Mary Jo Gaugler distribute freshly harvested produce to each volunteer’s tub on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at the Gethsemane Grace Garden at 3600 25th St. S. in Fargo.
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Garden supervisor Brian Arett chats about the garden’s happy volunteers on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at the Gethsemane Grace Garden at 3600 25th St. S. in Fargo.
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Carrots are trimmed up after harvesting on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at the Catalyst West Garden located at 1894 21st Ave. S. in Fargo.
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Jack Wood, Growing Together Co-Founder, gives a tour of Gethsemane Grace Garden on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at 3600 25th St. S. in Fargo.
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Joycelyn Wainwright weighs a bucket of delicata squash on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at the Catalyst West Garden located at 1894 21st Ave. S. in Fargo.
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Volunteers pick fresh produce from along a fence on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at the Arbors Garden located at 702 23rd St. S. in Fargo.
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Gethsemane Grace Garden volunteers smile for a photo with their harvest for the day on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at 3600 25th St. S. in Fargo.
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Alyssa Goelzer is a photojournalist at The Forum. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from Minnesota State University Moorhead. Goelzer has worked for The Forum gathering photos since 2020.
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