The Harrison County Extension Agency kicked off its annual Growing and Nourishing Healthy Communities Garden Course last week, inviting all to come and find their “green thumb”.
“It’s six weeks long. The first lesson, they learned general information about gardening — what are the different elements a plant needs to survive like water, soil — things of that nature. Then we have a real fun activity,” said Extension Agent Louraiseal McDonald.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said.
The six-week course kicked off last Thursday, March 2, at St. Mark’s Methodist Church, located at 1101 Jasper Drive, in Marshall. The course will continue at 4 p.m., every Thursday at the location, until April 6.
McDonald said those interested still have time to register.
“It’s open to any and everybody,” she said. “Just because somebody missed the first session does not mean they can’t go to the second session. The series is free. We do ask for people to register to make sure we have enough supplies.”
McDonald said the first session, held last week, saw a diverse group of 25 attendees, ranging from couples, to grandparents and their grandchildren, to best friends, singles and families. Members of the church’s respite ministry, SHINE, also joined in the fun. McDonald was thrilled to welcome the group, which is a respite ministry for parents and caregivers of adult individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who meet every first Thursday.
“At the church, there were people there with developmental delays. I also had parents there, grandparents there. The church also has a new pastor (Rev. Milton Rodgers), so this was a new way for him to get to know his congregation,” said McDonald, describing how diverse the first class was.
“Some best friends came. It was just a whole lot of different dynamics,” she said of the diverse crowd. “It was just a great time by all.”
According to the course guide, the Growing and Nourishing Healthy Communities Garden Course, which is funded, in part, by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), helps increase the availability of fresh produce through teaching participants how to grow fruits and vegetables in community and backyard gardens. The gardening series covers a variety of topics such as how to select the right garden location, planting and watering techniques, controlling insects, and composting, the guidelines show.
“By incorporating cooking demonstrations using the produce grown, participants learn how to prepare the produce they harvest,” instructors hope.
As a fun way to kick off last week’s first session, participants made sun hats, using old newspaper. The hats were embellished with balloons, jewels, and other elements to remind them of techniques learned.
“They’re putting different items on the hat to help them remember the different things the plant or vegetable needs to grow,” said McDonald. “It’s a lot of fun.”
“I’m also going to do food demonstrations, give them recipes, talk about nutrition, and the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables,” McDonald said of instructional plans.
At the end of the six-weeks gardening series, instructors hope program participants will be able to identify the characteristics of a suitable garden site; evaluate soils and identify the main components as sand, silt, clay, or loam; make compost and know what materials are best for home composting; create “pots” from newspaper and use them to plant seeds or seedlings to begin a garden; identify good maintenance practices common to vegetable gardens; keep a garden journal to help observe plant health and growth; investigate problems, and record measures taken to resolve problems; identify causes, symptoms, prevention, and treatment of common vegetable disorders and diseases; detect common insect pests and beneficial insects; follow best practices for harvesting, handling, and storing produce; and learn how to save seeds.
The students are excited about learning the various techniques of growing their own homegrown produce.
“There is a difference in the taste of a fresh grown homegrown tomato in comparison to any produce that’s bought in the store,” said McDonald. “A lot of times, people will plant and grow various fruits and vegetables and don’t know what to do with it. This will help them kind of think outside of the box.”
The series will also help teach participants how to survive through tough economic times.
“With our economy, because food prices are so high, this is another way to save money,” said McDonald.
“Back in the day, this is what our ancestors — our grandparents and great grandparents did,” she said, recalling how forefathers would share their produce with neighbors, oftentimes exchanging a jar of peaches for tomatoes.
“That’s how they made it work,” said McDonald. “You could really feed a village, so to say. Then there are some farmers who would have a buffer crop…greens, for example, … they made so many to where if they can’t sell it all, they might just give it away. That’s good. It’s good to share; it’s good to learn.”
“With this particular group they’re going to plant potatoes. They’re going to have the opportunity to learn how to harvest a potato,” said McDonald. “There’s actually a technique to it. So that’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Volunteer groups that helped with the planning and implementation of the program were: Harrison Master Wellness Volunteers, Harrison Leadership Advisory Board, Harrison Master Gardeners, and County Ag Agent Matt Garrett.
Speakers for the series include master gardeners Carol Hartt and Tesa Wilson; Prairie View A&M agriculture agent Mary Derting; and presenter Canen Melton with Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities.
For more information on registration, call McDonald at (903) 935-8414 or email Louraiseal.McDonald@ag.tamu.edu .