A vegetable garden at school can change your life
From
Beverly Mills
| May 03, 2010
In Coffee and Convo
If they grow it, they will eat it. And it just might change their lives.
Efforts to get kids into vegetable gardens seem to be mushrooming (pun intended). We’re curious to know if you’ve run into this trend, too? I recently visited vegetable gardens at two Miami elementary schools and attended a workshop on a teen-run garden at a school in Miami for at-risk youth.
So here these kids are, out in the fresh air, hands in the dirt, making something delicious happen from practically nothing. The results of this program are documented, and they are transformative. (These particular school gardens – and 30 others just like them -- are part of the “Plant a Thousand Gardens Collaborative Nutrition Initiative,” funded by the nonprofit Education Fund of the Miami-Dade public schools. Click here for more info.)
You don’t really need statistics to see how amazing it is when kids (even big ones) “play” in the dirt. Pride was all over the place as second- and third-graders at Miami’s Lenora B. Smith Elementary and Thena C. Crowder Elementary picked vegetables, pulled weeds and experienced a plethora of smells as they gently rubbed the leaves of the fresh herbs growing in raised beds they helped build.
“Before we started the garden, most of these kids thought vegetables grew in the supermarket,” said Hakim Mujahib, a second-grade science teacher at Crowder.
The enthusiasm was contagious and inspiring. As the kids showed me the results of their labor – fresh collards, pigeon peas, tomatoes, eggplant, papaya and habanero peppers – it literally brought tears to my eyes. I left the gardens vowing to do two things that could make a difference in my own life:
1.) Sign up with an organic CSA -- or a community supported garden where you buy a weekly “share” of the crop (click here for info). I did this one summer when I lived in Minneapolis, and it was wonderful. (Has anyone else ever bought a farm share? I’d love to hear from you as to how it went because I plan to blog about it down the road and need some input. You can email me at tellus@KitchenScoop.com.)
2.) Install a raised bed for veggies in an unused, sunny corner of my yard. This is going to take some effort and education. However, in a bit of serendipity, I went to the Food and Garden Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. There I discovered organic nurseries in Miami that will deliver the wooden square for the raised bed -- and supply dirt, plants and all -- for $750. (Does that seem too expensive to you? I’m going to price it out on the do-it-yourself front, but it might be worth the extra $$ just to make sure it actually happens. Advice? Ideas?)
So, in conclusion: Although I have a brown thumb, I am descended from a long line of serious vegetable gardeners (!), and so this whole topic may resonate with me more than the average Joe. I think I’m in search of perspective as much as anything else but I do know this:
If playing in the dirt results in even a fraction of the fun for me that those Dade second-graders were having, it’ll be worth every penny and every ounce of effort. So, enough bla-bla from me. What do you think?
Comments
From Ellen - May 04, 2010
I love my raised beds. Started with one, added another, moved them, rebuilt them… compost piles as well. But you don’t NEED raised beds. One year in an odd corner I experimented with “lasagna gardening” (appropriate for someone who loves to cook, eh?). It worked fantastically! Google it or buy the book at Amazon. Also, the Square Foot Gardening book is fantastic and is great as you can find ways to grow a variety of things rather than TONS of one or two things.
At this point, I cannot imagine not having a vegetable garden. I always do the summer/fall stuff (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, herbs, beets, radishes, beans). Some years I’m really good and do the winter stuff (cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, garlic, onions). Also trying to do more perennial edibles (artichokes, rhubarb) that can fit right into your regular flower bed if you’d like.
It really just doesn’t take all that much effort once you get the beds set up. When I had more time and less money I started most everything from seeds but now I cheat and buy plants for stuff like tomatoes at the nursery.
From Beverly Mills - May 04, 2010
Thanks so much for the encouragement ladies! I have a Kitchen Garden expert coming out on Wednesday to check out my sunny spot and make recommendations. This guy is much cheaper than the $750 one!
From Ellen - May 04, 2010
Wow. I didn’t see the $750 price tag when I skimmed the post before. No way. I paid a few hundred dollars for some guys to come out and redo my raised beds (use non-treated lumber by the way or the chemicals can leach into the soil) and do the sprinklers for them. Not sure what you’d be getting for $750 but just dirt and plants and wood (especially if it’s pressure treated)—too much unless you’d NEVER do it otherwise, in which case go for it. But you’ll be on a multi year breakeven budget. 
But if it includes some automatic sprinklers, then maybe. I love my garden but I work a lot too and the watering is something I love to automate.
From Beverly Mills - May 04, 2010
For the $750 you got the bed (4 X 12 X 10 from 2” pine; filled with “super soil”, the plants (herbs, veggies, fruits and flowers of choice), 1 pump sprayer and organic bug spray; organic fertilizer; garden care and harvesting instructions; teepee for bean or cucumber. and delivery and installation, of course.
That’s it for the $750.
From Melinda Neely - May 04, 2010
It’s refreshing to hear that kids in school will eat vegetables if they grow them. This is the experience I had with my 6 year old at home. He loves everything from playing in the dirt to picking the beans.
We are expanding our garden and raising the beds. We have done this ourselves and essentially paying only for the wood and dirt. I’m guessing it will total in the $300 range.
From csteeljewelry - May 06, 2010
Thank you very much for sharing, thank you!
From Kitchen Garden - May 06, 2010
Yes its really true. Its very important for every school. Good article Thanks.
From mesa dentist - May 10, 2010
Gardening is fascinating! Raised beds are ideal for many vegetable gardens. In Garden If you have space is at a premium, go vertical. Cucumbers, peas and pole beans are natural climbers, great for growing on a trellis or fence.
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From AnnM - May 03, 2010
We should all do more veggie growing! What a wonderful way to make sure we do not end up like the humans in the Wall-E movie!
I shared a share of an organic garden a few years ago with a neighbor. The upside is the really fresh, really good tasting veggies that you already like. The challenge is dealing with 2 or 3 lbs. of something you aren’t sure what to do with (rutabagas, or turnips come to mind).
I love the Victory Garden Cookbook (from the PBS series that ran a while ago.) It’s out of print, I believe, but check for used copies. It not only gives delicious recipes, but has planting, growing, and storage advice for veggies, A to Z. Absolutely essential, I think