Table 5.

Thematic Summary from Post Gardening Key Informant Interviews - 2009/2010 Harvest Fiesta

Study Question	Themes	Exemplars
1. What has the gardening program meant for your and your family? Probe: How long have you been in the program	• Food security (for family and neighbors)	“Garden for me is very important because for a while you have everything you need. Every family should have one to learn how to produce for themselves. It is also important as a family tradition because we share the food with neighbors, daughters, sons-in-law….” “I do need to buy things at the store and we do use our own garden harvest for winter vegetables - we do this because the food is so expensive in the winter. We buy some vegetables in the summer because it is cheaper and the food is fresh and we save our garden’s food for winter.”
	• Food Safety (no chemicals)	“We enjoy vegetables with no chemicals in them” “The most important things are that there are no chemicals in the vegetables”
	• Carrying on Traditions of 1st family in Mexico both for raising culturally important foods (e.g. salsa) and for working in the soil	“My wife is one of 12 siblings and gardening is a family tradition. This came from living in Mexico, which was the only food they had.” “Working the soil is important - my husband loves the earth and cultivating the earth is so important. I love to learn and it is important for the children to see planting and helping with it. I worked with my father in the garden in Mexico” “We have so much pride about the vegetables. We love to work with the earth - it is a family tradition”
2. How has the education program on pesticides, insects and ground cover been helpful to the program? Probe: What was it like having researchers from Portland be a part of the program?	• Unexpected learning	“It has been important to know about bad dirt and not to bring dirt from the pesticide garden. We are now bringing it from the cow pasture. “We now use natural fertilizer that my husband makes - we have been composting.”
	• Anticipated learning	“We also want to learn more about composting to make the soil better. We have so much hope for our children, but fears too (about documentation).” “The educational materials that were really helpful because of the fear of pesticides - we have had to deal with slugs and sails though we have been about to keep these away by giving them beer - they eat the beer and die.”
	• Building Trust & Interdependence	“Having you visit us it good - communication is better this way because you can see how we live and we can hear your voice.” “Having people from Portland coming makes us feel valued and we want them to know how much work the gardening is - it is good that they (people from Portland) care about us and want to learn from us - we can support each other.”