Grow an edible garden this year
Valley Town Gardens is a small family-owned and operated gardening business serving the communities of Dundas, Ancaster, & Hamilton, ON
Our Services
Valley Town Gardens specializes in designing, installing, and maintaining:
- Raised bed, in-ground, & container gardens for growing food
- Native & pollinator-friendly gardens to replace lawns
Whether you need just a little bit of advice on what to grow, or are looking for full project assistance from start to finish, we can help.
Contact us for a quote or free on-site consultation.
About Us
We are a husband and wife team who started Valley Town Gardens in 2023. Originally, our business was named EG365 (Edible Gardening 365) because our focus was on helping people grow their own food year-round. In 2025, we decided to add native and pollinator-friendly landscaping to our services and updated our name to reflect our expanded offerings.
For us, edible gardening encompasses both feeding ourselves and feeding pollinators. We encourage everyone to include both food and native or pollinator-friendly plants in their gardens to help keep our food ecosystem healthy and thriving.
Jen’s Bio
Jen grew up helping out in her family’s backyard garden in Toronto, which sparked a life-long interest in growing food. After studying Life Sciences at Queen’s University, she worked for health science companies and volunteered with environmental organizations, including Evergreen Brick Works and Not Far From The Tree. She founded Valley Town Gardens to tackle the challenges posed by farmland degradation, global uncertainty, and climate change on our increasingly fragile food system. Jen is responsible for garden design, planting, and maintenance, and teaches local workshops on edible gardening.
Zach’s Bio
Zach grew up in Ancaster and has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto. He has worked in machine design, e-commerce, and small business consulting. After becoming aware of how modern food and industrial farming practices impact human health and development, he became interested in organic and traditionally prepared foods, especially those that are naturally fermented, soaked, or sprouted. Zach designs and constructs the hardscaping for Valley Town Gardens.
Why Grow Your Own Food
The most common reasons we hear for why people want to start their own food gardens are flavour, nutrition, and price. But beyond these benefits, there are so many other reasons to grow your own food:
Healthy Mind & Body: Many of us do not get enough physical activity and outdoor time. Gardening can be an easy and enjoyable way to get in your daily dose of low-impact exercise, while also reaping the physiological and psychological health benefits of working in the fresh air with plants and soil. Our gardens are specifically designed to be low maintenance, resource efficient, and beautiful, so that working in your garden is a joyful experience rather than another item on your to-do list.
Local Knowledge: When you grow your own food, you become a role model and resource for your community. When your friends, family, and neighbours see you out and about in your garden, they are more likely to start their own edible garden or exchange tips and tricks if they already garden themselves. Every day you spend outside with your hands in the dirt adds to the collective body of local knowledge — from what vegetable varieties grow well and taste the best, to what flowers the bees and butterflies flock to, to how to manage diseases and pests, it’s all useful information that can be passed along.
Year-Round Harvests: We are able to grow a wide variety of crops right here in Ontario, including some foods that might surprise you (figs! kiwis! almonds!). These foods can be used fresh or preserved to extend the harvest, reducing our dependence on imported grocery store produce. It’s also possible to grow crops outdoors 365 days a year by choosing cold-hardy varieties and providing some simple winter protection.
Let’s Get Growing! We want to encourage everyone to grow some of their own food, even if it’s just a pot of tomatoes, a window box of herbs, or a small patch of strawberries. We want to help as many people as possible to become producers rather than just consumers. When more of us grow our own food and share our knowledge and harvests, the stronger and more resilient our food system and community becomes.
Growing food Growing community All year round
Workshops
Upcoming:
No workshops currently scheduled
Past:
Fri, May 9, 2025 (10-11am): Edible Gardening for Beginners (Tessi & Co.)
Tue, May 20, 2025 (10-11am): Edible Gardening for Small Spaces (Tessi & Co.)
Testimonials
“I reached out to Jen when the idea of gardening felt overwhelming to me, but with her expertise and guidance she helped me build a sustainable garden that was easy to upkeep and produced a great yield for my family of 4 … She continues to be a wealth of knowledge anytime I have questions — though I’ve been much more self-sufficient since she got me started as her gardening plans were so detailed and easy to follow.”
— Emily, Dundas
“Jen was so helpful in curating a custom backyard edible garden for me! I’ve never been good with plants, but Jen made the process and care easy to understand. I was able to have fresh salad and herbs all summer and well into fall with minimal effort. I’ll definitely be reaching out to her every season!”
— Yelena, Dundas
Valley Town Gardens 