The inaugural “You Can Do It Too!” Farm Stand welcomed neighbors and visitors on Saturday for a three-hour community event featuring affordable plants, herbs, eucalyptus, coffee, and practical conversations about growing food at home.
Held August 15, the farm stand featured basil plants grown from seed on the property, vegetable starts, fresh herb bouquets, and eucalyptus. Guest vendor Gary LeBeauf, aka The Creole Candy Man, joined the event with his handmade confectionery treats, including peanut and pecan brittle.
Plants were intentionally priced as low as $2, helping lower the financial barrier to getting started and making gardening more accessible to anyone curious about growing their own food.
Visitors ranged from experienced gardeners to those interested in growing for the very first time. One guest purchased plants for her granddaughter because of the affordable $2 price point, while others asked questions, exchanged gardening tips, and shared ideas about what they would like to see offered in the future.
Bok choy emerged as one of the day’s biggest hits, selling out during the event and quickly establishing itself as a guest favorite. The popular vegetable is already slated to return at future farm stands.
“You Can Do It Too!” grew out of founder Jeandra LeBeauf’s own experience learning how to grow food at home. LeBeauf isn’t a lifelong gardener. She began growing during the COVID-19 pandemic, learning largely through trial and error. Along the way, she figured out what worked in her space, what didn’t, how to manage pests, and just how much food could be produced from a residential garden.
That learning process has become central to the project’s mission. Rather than presenting gardening as something that requires years of expertise, expensive equipment, or acres of land, “You Can Do It Too!” emphasizes starting small, learning through experience, and making the most of what you already have.
“I want to lower the barrier to growing, and education is part of that,” LeBeauf said. “I didn’t grow up knowing how to do all of this. I’ve learned by trying things, getting some things right, getting some things wrong, and trying again.”
She added that one of the biggest misconceptions about gardening is that people need to have everything figured out before they begin.
“Sometimes people think they need a lot of space, a lot of money, or they need to know exactly what they’re doing before they start. They don’t. I want people to see what we’re doing here and understand: You Can Do It Too.”
As LeBeauf’s garden began producing more plants and herbs than one household could use, the farm stand became a natural way to share that abundance with the community. It also created an opportunity to pass along what she has learned while giving aspiring growers an affordable place to begin their own gardening journeys.
Feedback from the inaugural event is already helping shape the farm stand’s fall offerings, which will include cool-season vegetables and other plants well suited for growing at home. Bok choy will make its return, along with additional offerings inspired by what visitors said they would like to grow next.
More than anything, the inaugural farm stand demonstrated that there is an appetite not only for affordable, homegrown plants, but also for approachable information that can help people feel confident enough to grow their own food.
About “You Can Do It Too!”
“You Can Do It Too!” is a home gardening and community education project created by Jeandra LeBeauf to make growing food more accessible. Through affordable plants, practical education, and an open trial-and-error approach, the project encourages new growers to start with what they have, learn as they go, and discover that growing their own food is more attainable than they might think.
