The discussion led by two enthusiastic Barton County Master Gardeners, Monica Bowers and Karen Morton, energized the classroom at Barton County Academy alternative school earlier this week. Back in January when I was presenting information from my fact sheet titled, “Simple Seasonal Meals” one of the class members asked if I could show/teach them how to plant a garden. Well, that one question made me start thinking. It has been a long time since I planted a real garden and I certainly do not feel like an expert on the subject. But with the help of trained Master Gardeners I knew this project had possibilities.
I met with students and staff at Barton County Academy and we put together a grant application through the Golden Belt Community Foundation. Earlier this month we learned that we received money to pay for fencing, soil and marketing for our community garden.
A few things were not funded in our grant request so I am hoping some of my faithful readers who may have a few extra tools will consider donating to this worthy cause. Since none of the students have ever gardened we are in need of a spade, hoes, and small garden tools. I believe the location where we are planting the garden has watering hose that we may use. We also will need to rent a roto- tiller unless someone has a tiller that we could borrow for a morning in mid-April.
I want to publicly thank Monica and Karen for the great job they did to explain basic gardening principles to our eager learners. Now the class has the task of planning a garden that will provide them with some fresh vegetables their families can enjoy and some great learning experiences for future gardens.
The learning will conclude with a food preservation workshop that I am working to coordinate. So far I know the date is Friday, July 22, at the Great Bend High School FACS room. I will have more information as information becomes available.
Now, let’s go work in the garden!
Donna Krug is the Family & Consumer Science Agent with K-State Research and Extension – Barton County. You may reach her at: (620)793-1910 or dkrug@ksu.edu