Grow A ROW

Grow with Herbalista

Herbalista’s Grow a Row Program began in 2015 to help build Atlanta’s herbal infrastructure. We offer trainings, resources and herbalistic opportunity, sowing the seeds for a more resilient city.  The Grow a Row Program is an important part of the Herbalista model of community care, which brings together herban agriculture, medicine making and free clinics in a way that uplifts our whole community. 

We welcome everyone to share in our online resources and in-person opportunities at the Herbalista Learning Garden in the Summerhill neighborhood of Atlanta. We love helping folks grow, harvest, process, preserve and share herbs.

Herbalista Learning Garden

The Learning Garden was born in 2021 in the Summerhill Neighborhood of Atlanta, not far from Grant Park. There we gather each month on our Garden Days, to share skills and build community. For upcoming events at the Garden, please check the Events page or the Garden Days tab below.

Pink echinacea flowers in full bloom.

Grow a Row Guides

The Grow A Row Project promotes herban-agriculture in the Atlanta area.  We believe in investing in a vibrant local herbal infrastructure. Grow a Row was founded in 2015 to support the Herbalista Free Clinic to meet the need for affordable herbal care. We were hoping not only to help establish better  access for raw materials  for our clinic, but to nurture an herb growing scene right here in Atlanta. 

Over the years we have offered an abundance of resources and services such as:

  • Seeds or plants as available for community distribution.
  • Monthly volunteer days at the Herbalista Learning Garden to gain skills and build community!
  • Plant distillations at the Herbalista Learning Garden. 
  • Free skill-share sessions on topics such as seed saving, harvesting, and processing herbs.
  • Advice on growing, harvesting, production and processing technique
  • Online resources for growing tips, medicinal uses, and tasty recipes!
  • Downloadable Worksheets for Growing, Harvest and Drying Records
  • An awesome network of folks to hang out with!

These manuals are a part of our online resources, sharing a bit more about the program as well as helping people learn more about growing herbs in Atlanta. This document has grown over these past many years thanks to the input, support, love and crafting of Duane Marcus, Lorna Mauney-Brodek, Christina Gibson, Dara Suchke, Tim Hayes, Emily Brabeck, Sam Cramer, Heather Lacy, the Herbalista Crew, and our many fabulous volunteers, donors, friends and our Partners-in-Dirt!

Grow a Row Main Guide

Last updated in 2019, this is the main guide to our programs. In this guide you will find:

  • Information about the Grow a Row Program, including our objectives and what to expect.
  • Our Grow a Row Pledge to each other and the earth
  • A list of the 40 herbs that we encourage folks to grow in the Atlanta area
  • Forms to help with record keeping for growing, harvesting and drying
  • Example labels
  • Information on planting design and polycultures
  • And as always, loads of resources.
Grow a Row Main Program Guide
The cover of the Grow a Row Program Guide with the Herbalista Bus Logo at the top and a picture in the middle of hands sorting a large harvest of Tulsi Basil.

Herb Drying Shed User Guide

Living in Atlanta comes with hot, humid weather. That can make drying herbs difficult. In the summer of 2020, when supply chains were disrupted due to the pandemic, we knew it was an important time to invest more in our infrastructure as community herbalists. We built the sweetest of Herb Drying Sheds to help us with this process (thank you Stewart and Marie-Lies).

For folks doing lots of Herb Drying, we made a little manual sharing how we maintain our Herb Drying Shed. It includes links to our Herb Drying Shed Maintenance Log Sheet as well as Herb Drying Shed Climate Log Sheet.

Herb Drying Shed User Guide
The cover of the Herb Drying Shed User Guide with the Title in green and the Herbalista Bus Logo at the top. The image is of bundles of lemongrass handing from a drying line in the shed.

Grow a Row Worksheets

Here are several worksheets you can use for Growing, Harvesting, and Drying your herbs. We hope you find them useful.

Growing Record Template

Growing Record Template

Grow a row Pledge

Grow A Row Pledge

Planting Log

Planting Log

Site Observation Log

Site Observation Log

Herb Harvest Worksheet

Herb Harvest Worksheet

Harvest + Drying Worksheet

Harvest + Drying Worksheet

Herb Drying Shed Maintenance Log Sheet

Herb Drying Shed Maintenance Log Sheet

Herb Drying Shed Climate Log Sheet

Herb Drying Shed Climate Log Sheet

Join us at the Learning Garden

Our monthly volunteer garden days at the Herbalista Learning Garden are a chance to gain skills and build community! The Learning Garden is located in the Summerhill neighborhood of Atlanta, not far from Grant Park. Please visit the Events Page for more information about our Garden Day events and to register.

Upcoming Garden Days:

  • GARDEN PARTY + DISTILLATION November 9th from 2pm–5pm (Herb of the Month: Ginger + Turmeric) We will have two very special guests at our final garden day of the year. Stella the Still will be distilling a lovely ginger hydrosol and Brigid Books: Atlanta’s Mobile Healing Library will also be there!
Register for a Garden Day

Herb of the Month Club

This year we launched our Herb of the Month Club where we focus on a particular herb at each month’s Volunteer Garden Day.  Folks also receive herbal material either to plant in their garden or for use in their home apothecary. And if you don’t live nearby, we have loads of online material to share as well!

Upcoming Herbs

  • September (GOLDENROD)
  • October (LEMONBALM)
  • November (GINGER + TURMERIC)

To learn more, please visit our Herb of the Month Club Page where we share detailed materia medicas for each of our chosen herbs.

Herb of the Month Club

Sharing your Herbs

Thank you for supporting your community with the gift of herbs. Herbalista is currently directing people to donate their herbs to the following projects around Atlanta. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for groups we can add to this list via the contact page.  

  • The Fire Cider Brigade makes large batches of Fire Cider to distribute to our friends on the streets in Atlanta.  We use lots of GINGER, ONION, GARLIC, ELDERBERRY, TURMERIC, HIBISCUS, HAWTHORNE BERRY, APPLE CIDER VINEGAR and HONEY.  Please contact the Brigade directly at [email protected] if you have any to share.

If you would like to donate herbs, please sign our Grow a Row Pledge to confirm your dedication to growing your plants without the application of herbicide, pesticides, fungicides, and synthetic fertilizers. We also share this Donation Form that should be filled out and submitted along with any donations.

Grow a Row Pledge

Grow a Row Pledge

Donation Form

Donation Form (Harvest + Drying)

Thanks to our Partners in Dirt

Farm Camp ATL

Farm Camp Atl works to support local farming initiatives, create spaces that provide a respite from the City and encourage environmental conservation.  They host the Herbalista Learning Garden on their grounds where where we hold our monthly volunteer learning days and seasonal herb distillations! 

The Funny Farm

The Funny Farm is a 3 acre suburban permaculture haven, located in Stone Mountain, GA where Duane and Robin grow veggies, small fruits, herbaceous and woody flowers, medicinal herbs, mushrooms, and worms. They teach classes on organic gardening, sustainable living, and run the medicinal herb line Stone Mountain Herbs. Duane is a co-founder of the Grow a Row Program and is also an active member and trainer for the Herb Cart Program.

Grow Where You Are Farm

Grow Where You Are inspires people to grow quality, local food in beautiful systems that support the ecology, encourage the economy and improve human health.

Hearthfire Farm + Nursery

Hearthfire Farm + Nursery’s mission is to help people grow their own herbal medicine! We strive to do this at a financially accessible price for everyone, because every person deserves access to medicine, and every bee, butterfly, and critter deserves a chance to continue their incredible legacy.

Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill

The Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill is Atlanta’s first Community Urban Food Forest, as well as a new model for a City of Atlanta park. The food forest produces a wide variety of fresh, flavorful, and healthy nuts, fruits,  vegetables, herbs,  and mushrooms, which will become available for public consumption. They kindly partner with us for trainings and workshops.

The Wylde Center

The Wylde Center offers educational programs, events and greenspaces that actively engage youth, families and individuals in their environment, health and community, and that develop skills in environmental science, sustainable urban living, organic gardening, health, and nutrition.  They have kindly partnered with us over the years for many trainings and workshops, in particular seed starting events.

A groups of people are standing around a raised bed on a sunny day.

Grow a Row Gallery

Someone stands smiling holds a tray of small herb plants.
A large wooden pallet is painted in yellow and green with the words "Grow a Row Herbal Learning Garden"
Abbe and Kelsey tip a wheelbarrow filled with soil over and dump it onto the ground in the garden.
Lateefade works the row with a hoe.
A row of lemongrass hangs in bundles from a line strung across a wooden cabin.
A close up of a hand that is scooping soil and putting it into pots.
Two people stand with a massive bouquest of Tulsi Basil.
The Grow a Row crew sit next to each other on a low platform.
A parent and baby stand behind a table filed with seed trays.
Two young children stand at a table of seeded out trays.
Someone holds seed trays and smiles.
Two people stand holding plants and seed trays, smiling towards the sun.
A group of people stand atop a terraced garden framed against the sky.
Someone leans over a tray filled with seed packets.
Abbe is sitting on the ground making seed packets. She looks up at the camera and smiles.
A hanging basket with many layers is filed with green herbs that are drying.
A close-up of hands that are putting seeds onto a seed tray.
In the foreground is a basket with many seed packets on display. The logo reads "Strictly Medicinal Seeds. In the background is another table covered in books.
A parent and child work together filling seed trays with soil.
A groups of people are standing around a raised bed on a sunny day.
Tim leans over and mixes the seed starting mix in a large plastic tub.
Christina sits at a table covered in seed packets. There is a sign on the table with the Herbalista logo.
Emily sifts the seeds using a special tool.
Several people stand around filling trays with soil.
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