StretchLearn Course

Grow Real Food, From Soil to Harvest, the First Season

Soil building, raised beds, seed-starting, companion and succession planting, watering, and organic pest control, taught the way working market gardeners do it.

Preview Curriculum Back to Catalog

Beginner9 hr 40 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This course takes you from bare ground or an empty raised bed to a productive, season-long vegetable garden. You will learn how to test and amend soil, build a bed and fill it with a proven mix, start seeds and harden them off, lay out companion and succession plantings, install a simple drip system, rotate crops to break pest and disease cycles, and stop the most common garden pests using row cover, hand control, and biological methods. No chemicals and no guesswork, just soil, seed, water, and methods backed by extension-service research.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Test garden soil for texture, pH, and drainage, then amend it to a vegetable-ready 6.0 to 7.0 pH

Build a raised bed and fill it with a balanced soil mix using the correct compost-to-mineral ratio

Decide which crops to direct-sow versus transplant, and start seeds indoors with correct light, heat, and timing

Lay out a bed using proven plant spacings and research-backed companion and antagonist pairings

Install a drip or soaker watering system that delivers about 1 inch of water per week to the root zone

Plan a succession and 3-to-4-year crop-rotation schedule that keeps beds producing and breaks pest cycles

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: Soil, Beds, and Site

Build the foundation every harvest depends on: read your sun and site, test and amend the soil, and construct a raised bed filled with a proven growing mix.

3 lessons

Reading Your Site: Sun, Drainage, and LayoutContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Testing and Amending Your SoilContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Building and Filling a Raised BedContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Seeds and Transplants

Decide what to sow directly versus start indoors, raise sturdy seedlings under lights, and harden them off so transplanting succeeds.

3 lessons

Direct-Sow Versus Transplant: Choosing the MethodContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Starting Seeds Indoors Under LightsContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Hardening Off and TransplantingContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Layout, Companions, and Watering

Arrange the bed for healthy airflow and good neighbors, then install a watering system that delivers consistent moisture to the root zone.

3 lessons

Plant Spacing and Intensive Bed LayoutContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Companion Planting That Actually WorksContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Watering Systems and MulchContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Succession, Rotation, and Pests

Keep beds producing all season with succession sowing, break disease cycles with crop rotation, and defend the garden without chemicals.

3 lessons

Succession Planting for a Continuous HarvestContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Crop Rotation and Plant FamiliesContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Managing Pests Without PesticidesContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

vegetable gardeningraised bed gardeningsoil healthseed startingcompanion plantingdrip irrigationcrop rotationorganic pest control