“Sprouted” is a 10-week newsletter series aimed at beginner gardeners, created and hosted by Vermont Public digital producer Zoe McDonald. The newsletter guides subscribers from seed to harvest, blending expert advice and reporting with Zoe’s friendly personal commentary. “Sprouted” has a distinct brand and visual language with custom illustrations, exclusive printables, and fun surprises such as gardening-themed music playlists.
“Sprouted” launched in April 2025. Vermont Public already had an engaged, loyal audience of gardening enthusiasts because of a weekly radio show. “Sprouted” was an attempt to deepen our engagement with this audience and bring new people into the fold. It was Vermont Public’s first topical newsletter course and furthered two internal goals: building our email lists and engaging people who are news-avoidant.
Subscribers could start the 10-week course at any time, but as we got further into the growing season, we offered a “skip ahead” option that would let them bypass the issues about indoor seed-starting and go straight to planting outdoors.
After subscribers had completed the 10-week course, Zoe followed up with a survey and, later, a special fall harvest email.
One benefit of the subject matter is that the content can be reused every year. In early 2026, Zoe refreshed and updated the material and invited people to come along on the journey a second time.
