Planting the Seeds of Gardening
Franklin County 4-H
Youth Start Garden Club
Chambersburg, PA – Although Michelle Obama’s White House
garden gets a lot of media attention, it’s the growth of local and community
gardens that have an impact IRL (in real life). This year 4-H of Franklin
County is starting a Garden Club.
Franklin County is considered the No. 4 farm county in the
state and earns more than $300 million annually in agricultural sales. With the
farming community all around, many are inspired to learn about gardening and
have gardens of their own.
Last year, Master Gardener Jessica Kauffman was asked if
there was a junior Master Gardener program. While there is no Master Gardener
program for youths, Kauffman’s inquiries planted the seed for a 4-H Garden Club.
The first organizational meeting will be held on March 27 at 6:30 PM at the Ag Heritage Building at 185 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg. Meetings will be held weekly on Thursday evenings.
“The … Garden Club is a great opportunity for children ages
8-18 in the community to learn all aspects of gardening,” said Jason Goetz,
Extension Educator in the 4-H Youth Development Team. Like other 4-H Clubs, he said, they will also
learn “skills that will allow them to succeed in society.”
The Master Gardeners of Penn State Extension, Franklin
County and the 4-H club are teaming up with Kauffman and Carol Kagan as club
leaders. Other Master Gardeners will share their expertise as well. The club
will have a garden at the Ag Heritage Center gardens on Franklin Farm Road.
In past years Master Gardeners partnered with the 4-H
Harvest 4-Health and Kids Learning After School (KLAS) programs, helping
establish a vegetable garden at Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School in
Chambersburg. This is a local effort to teach the newest generation about
growing fresh, nutritious food, much like the White House garden.
Students at Thaddeus Stevens do spring planting (Photo: Public Opinion) |
Donna Scherer, Master Gardener Coordinator said, “It’s
important that we reach out to our youth to connect them to where their food
comes from and to empower them with the ability to grow their own food.”
For the 2014 year, the Garden Club will focus on Vegetable
Gardening. Youth will have the opportunity to grow vegetables on the Ag
Heritage grounds during the regular growing season. They will also have support
and resources for any home-based vegetable gardens.
Club members will learn about gardening from planning what
to plant through how to harvest and use the vegetables they grow. Along the way
to harvest, they will learn about the life-cycle of plants, what they need to
grow, and how to care for them to get a good harvest.
“I'm so excited to be a part of the new 4-H garden club!
Kids seem to have an innate curiosity and excitement about nature,” said
Kauffman, adding “I'm sure it will add to the energy at club meetings.”
In order to fund the Garden Club, 4-H is offering strawberry
plants at $7 (incl. tax) for a bundle of 25. Varieties available include
Earliglow, Honeoye, Northeaster, Allstar, Jewel, Cabot, Montery (day neutral
plants).
Perhaps the White House could use a few more strawberry
plants for their garden.
For more information about the club, becoming a member or to
order strawberries call the Penn State Extension office at 717-263-9226.
For more information about this program contact:
Jason Goetz,
4-H Youth Development Educator- Jjg300@psu.edu or 717-263-9226
Donna Scherer,
Master Garden Coordinator- Dks14@psu.edu or 717-263-9226
To be added to the e-mail event schedule list, please call 717-263-9226.
No comments:
Post a Comment