For the first seven weeks of the season, it's on Thursday afternoons at 4pm and I signed both boys up. The first class was yesterday and it was called "Learn It. Grow It. Eat It.". It was the garden orientation class.
After an introduction by Ms. Lisa telling the kids what they'd be doing this summer, we took a tour of the garden. At this point it is mostly tilled dirt with blueberry and blackberry bushes. There are a couple of raised beds in the garden too that need to be filled.
The kids will be growing lots of vegetables and at some point will have the opportunity to sell the vegetables themselves at the Franklin Farmer's Market. They will also get to taste what they grow and learn about all different things involved with gardening - like weeds, bugs, fertilizer, and dirt. I think one week a bee keeper is coming too which should be neat.
The kids also learned about the animals that like the garden. They learned that marigolds smell bad and so the kids will plant them around the garden to try to keep animals like rabbits and groundhogs out. First we need to grow the marigolds. So each kid got a pot and filled it with dirt from the garden. They also each got a packet of seeds and planted them in the pot. We took these pots home and will bring them back in a few weeks. The kid with the biggest plant is going to win a prize (I'm not getting my kids hopes up on that one!).
Before leaving, the kids got to work with some of the garden tools to start filling up a raised bed.
The boys had fun and I expect them to be completely filthy by the end of class each week. But it'll be something different to do and help me to learn more about gardening. I had hoped to put a garden in our yard this year but don't think we'll get around to it (just too many things to do!). Hopefully I'll learn enough so that we can be successful next year!
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