About Us

Here at Solid Ground, we take great pride in getting you strong plant starts that will excel in your garden. We are very conscious about the growing methods we use, employing organic practices and techniques that are environmentally low impact. 

The soil we use is organic and delivered in large sling bags to cut down on plastic,  and the sling bags are further recycled into reusable shopping bags once empty for folks to purchase and use. We happily take back any cups and containers that you get from us, so we can reuse them multiple times. Rather than using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, we take advantage of locally made fish emulsions, compost teas, and beneficial microbes and insects to keep our plants happy and pest pressures down. Also, the footprint of our greenhouse  is insulated, allowing us to hold heat in the ground and reduce the need for our propane heater, which is already one of the most fuel efficient types on the market.

We just love each and every one of our plants, and the different histories each seedling possess from around the world. We hope that you'll leave our nursery with a better understanding of each variety's own unique story, and empowered to grow them in your own garden. 

Hi! My name is Elizabeth Stephens (she/her), and I am a farmer, seed saver, truth-seeker, quilter, and lifelong learner. My mom  instilled a strong love of gardening and the land in me as a child, letting me scour her seeds for things to plant, and occasionally bringing me to work with her at Goose Cove Gardens in Gloucester, MA. In 2017 I graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a BS in Sustainable Food and Farming, and for five years after that I worked at Cedar Rock Gardens, first as a field hand, and eventually as the Greenhouse Manager. I started Solid Ground Gardens in 2023.

I have a passion for tending Andean crops as a way of grounding myself in my Ecuadorian and Indigenous heritages, and get excited seeing others connect to their histories through plants.