Latinos have a long-standing tradition of backyard or kitchen gardens used to grow food for the family and share with friends. For more than six months, CLUES Jardín de Armonía en Acción’s participants worked on compiling a Spanish-language vegetable growing guide that features artwork from two Latina artists who are also community garden participants, Lynda Acosta and Jennifer Pena. This gardening guide came about when the community of Latino gardeners realized the vast differences between growing in this northern climate compared to the more tropical climates they are used to. 

CLUES Jardin de Armonía en Acción was planted in 2020 in which more than 53 Latino families have participated, doubling their space in 2022 to accommodate the demand for more participants. CLUES, in collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield of MN, decided to publish this guide due to the lack of gardening resources in Spanish to increase the accessibility of growing vegetables for the Latino community in Minnesota.  

Designed for those who want to start a home garden in Minnesota, it includes basic information about growing conditions in this state such as sunlight, water sources, soil contamination, plants, compost, and most common pests, among other valuable resources. The main sections of the guide were all taken directly from questions that community gardeners wanted to know or would find useful. CLUES staff researched to find the information in English and used that to create an easy-to-read Spanish resource guide focused on the Latino community.  This guide will serve as a tool we can use in the garden to strengthen community members' skills and confidence and inspire others to build their own gardens at home.

The guide is available in Spanish online and it can be downloaded for FREE by clicking the image below.