On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to watch the first lesson of the Education Garden. Throughout the day, four Master Gardeners taught about 240 7th grade students at the Winona Middle School how to plant a garden plot. There was a lot of information that the students had to learn before they could even begin figuring out where each plant should go. The students had to learn about where the garden was, contour planning to deal with erosion and plant rotation. Then, they had to use all that knowledge and take into consideration how many plants they were planting and the space each plant needed to grow and they mapped out the plot.
I would have thought that after spending months working with the Master Gardeners that I would have known everything I needed to know about planting a garden. But I was wrong. For example, did you know that potatoes and tomatoes are part of the same plant family? I didn’t! Also, although I knew the basic reasons for plant rotations, pest management and soil health, it was still something I didn’t regularly think about. Getting to watch and participate in the 7th grade lesson was a great reminder to me that I shouldn’t keep planting my beans in the same spot year after year. We should also all try to remember that plants of the same family should not be planted in the same place that a member of that family was planted in previous years. So when planning your garden, remember to not plant your melon where your cucumbers were planted last year. When rotating plants, you should not plant a plant in the same place for 5 years. So make sure to keep track of where you plant things each year! To help with this, take a look at the simple plant family guide the Master Gardeners put together to help the 7th graders on their assignment.
I would have thought that after spending months working with the Master Gardeners that I would have known everything I needed to know about planting a garden. But I was wrong. For example, did you know that potatoes and tomatoes are part of the same plant family? I didn’t! Also, although I knew the basic reasons for plant rotations, pest management and soil health, it was still something I didn’t regularly think about. Getting to watch and participate in the 7th grade lesson was a great reminder to me that I shouldn’t keep planting my beans in the same spot year after year. We should also all try to remember that plants of the same family should not be planted in the same place that a member of that family was planted in previous years. So when planning your garden, remember to not plant your melon where your cucumbers were planted last year. When rotating plants, you should not plant a plant in the same place for 5 years. So make sure to keep track of where you plant things each year! To help with this, take a look at the simple plant family guide the Master Gardeners put together to help the 7th graders on their assignment.
After the lesson, the students had the chance to work in pairs to plot out the Education Gardens Plot. It was great to see students at that age considering plant rotation, sizes of plants and contour planting. I can’t believe the head start these students are getting on gardening while I’m just learning! I am so excited to go back in a couple weeks and help the students plant and tend the seedlings.
In the meantime, don’t forget that you can get involved with this project! There are great workshops coming up with the first being April 26. Also, Park and Recreation is offering a Family Program with the Education Gardens on Wednesday Evenings and we would love to have you join us. Or do you already know a lot about gardening? We are looking for people to help supervise and manage the different programs so let us know!
Submitted by Caitlin Nicholson, AmeriCorps VISTA assigned to Winona County
In the meantime, don’t forget that you can get involved with this project! There are great workshops coming up with the first being April 26. Also, Park and Recreation is offering a Family Program with the Education Gardens on Wednesday Evenings and we would love to have you join us. Or do you already know a lot about gardening? We are looking for people to help supervise and manage the different programs so let us know!
Submitted by Caitlin Nicholson, AmeriCorps VISTA assigned to Winona County