Henderson Settlement/ White Oak Happenings ~ Jackie

Sarah's (aged 11) Garden





 





Way back in the spring , Sarah, my next door neighbor, said to me, " School is almost out and I'm going to be sooo bored with nothing to do all summer". I asked , " Would you like to grow a garden?" She said, " I can't grow a garden, I don't know how! " I said, "I think I might be able to help you with that!
After discussing Grow Appalachia with Sarah's mom and explaining the program to Sarah, her mom agreed that growing a garden would be a great learning experience  for Sarah  and her whole family. Plus they would have fresh vegetables to eat!

Planting Tomatoes

 Sarah's mom remembered working in the garden when she was a little girl but had never planted her own garden. She was excited for Sarah to have the opportunity to learn how to grow a garden, however, we made sure that Sarah understood that the garden would be her responsibility . After discussing the space available for a garden and size of the garden, and what she might like to grow in the garden we decided that a raised bed garden would probably work best.
Sarah and her Dad built the raised bed and dug up soil to put in the raised bed,
she then planted tomatoes, okra and peppers.
Sarah had hoped to be able to sell some of her vegetables at our Farmers Market but the family ended up eating or giving away the vegetables she grew.



Learning how to can tomatoes with other Grow Appalachia participants

Sarah's Story

This spring I planted my first garden. It was a lot of work, but I had help from my mom and dad and Grow Appalachia. The hardest part was digging up the grass and then putting down the top soil. After that it got a lot easier. Jackie brought me tomatoes, peppers, and okra to plant. Mom showed me how to dig a hole and put in the plants and water. After that I had to keep them watered and pull out any weeds. I was really excited when the plants started to bloom and I was very happy the day I picked my first tomato. I shared my harvest with my whole family. Overall it was a great experience and I want to do it again next spring.



Weeding and Harvesting the garden