More Reasons to Garden

Found this interesting . A very good reason for gardens in schools

by Mike Podlesny

There is no question obesity is a rising problem for many here in the United States. The United States Center for Disease Control rates obesity as a person having a body mass index of 30 or greater. The body mass index, or BMI for short, is calculated based on the person’s height and weight and provides a reasonable indication of body fat, which could lead to further health issues.

You can simply calculate your own BMI right where you are sitting or standing. Take your weight in pounds and divide it by your height in inches, squared, multiplied by 703. The formula would look like this:
BMI = Weight(pounds) / (Height(inches) x Height(inches)) x 703.

To put in perspective just how great the problem is, in 2009 Colorado was the lowest BMI at 18.6% while Mississippi topped the list at 34.4%. Obesity has become such a big issue in this country, especially childhood obesity that it has become a topic to tackle by first lady Michelle Obama. Without getting into much politics, obesity of all age categories is definitely something we should and can easily tackle.

I recently posted this very question on our vegetable gardening Facebook page to see what kind of ideas the good folks came up with. Specifically the question that I raised was how we can tackle obesity in our children by incorporating vegetable gardening. The answers were many…too many to list here so I am going to mention the most popular ones.

Start Early
Many agreed that starting children early in teaching them vegetable gardening will go a long way for them to learn healthy eating habits. As one person wrote, “When they see that they can eat what they are growing, virtually anything they consume from their gardens will be healthy.”

Make It Fun
I see this in my own children if you do not keep it fun and light you will lose their attention and quickly. So those studies about the length of time and the amount attention span and a child has, are very accurate. We all agreed that making vegetable gardening fun is a great way to keep kids involved in vegetable gardening. One of the things I did personally for my son was buy him his own garden tool set. Sure they are toys, but he has the same tools as “dad” and when dad gets the shovel, so does he. It makes him feel involved.

When it comes time to harvest the fruits, herbs and vegetables I make sure that I get my son involved. For smaller items such as radishes and cherry tomatoes I let him do the picking. For larger items such as butternut squash, I will pick them and let him carry it to our patio table. I can see the excitement in his eyes every time we go out to pick new things.

Give Them Their Own
A popular post, especially for the older kids (7 and over), is to let them have their own 4’x4’ plot in your yard where they can plant whatever they want. This is a great method because you can teach them how to plan out the garden so they can maximize the space and grow things they like. My son loves broccoli. Yeah I know I got lucky, and every year we plant two Waltham Broccoli plants just for him. I make sure I tell him that those plants are his and when they are ready he can eat them. He gets pretty excited about it. It is a lot of fun to watch!

Finally, and just as important as the healthy eating of the fruits, vegetables and herbs that you grow is the exercise factor you get from home vegetable gardening. If you do a lot of the gardening tasks manually as I do, then you already know that it can be a good vigorous exercise routine. It is not always this way, everyday, but at least you are moving around, doing somewhat physical labor as opposed to sitting and watching TV, playing video games and so on. The same holds true for kids.

About the Author
Mike Podlesny is a contributing writer for Mike The Gardener Blog

McKinley School

Early planning. Its January, and the team at McKinley School is planning for it new garden. Next week they are kicking off a vegetable tasting event in their gymnasium. All the students in the school will have a chance to sample fresh vegetables, and rate them. They will be sampling 26 different items. Everything from blueberries to zucchini . This group from the South Bend Schools, Purdue Extension, and Unity Gardens are working toward the goal of educating students, and parents the benefits of growing, and eating healthy food.

The folks at Mckinley school really are a group of over achievers. They plan on putting in a greenhouse, and growing a garden this spring. Other plans include teaching healthy eating habits, a orchard , and incorporating the edible plants throughout the school grounds. This program is an early vision of what all the schools will be doing. They are definitely champions

Classes at Potawatomi Conservatories

Upcoming Collaboations with Potawatomi Conservatories

Leaders: Andy Schnabel and Don Keim, Botanical Society of South Bend
will be giving a class on :
Jan 15 at 10 am Methods of Houseplant Propagation
A hands-on workshop in easy techniques for propagating common houseplants. Everyone will get a chance to try these methods and return later to see how they turned

Unity Gardens will be doing a series of classes
Jan 22 10 am All About Vegetable Plants
An overview about vegetables from seed to harvest

Jan 29 10am Planning Your Vegetable Garden
Plan ahead: avoid problems in your vegetable garden

Feb 5 10 am The Dirt on Soil
Good soil preparation makes your vegetable garden grow

Feb 12 10am Indoor Seed Starting
Get a jump start on your vegetable garden

Feb 19 10 am Orchid Basics By Don Keim

Feb 26 10am Garden Pests
Protect your vegetable plants from insect pests, molds, and weeds

Mar 5 10am Maintaining your vegetable garden
Keep your garden in shape

All Classes will be held at Potawatomi Conservatories, 2105 Mishawaka Ave.
Parking available in the parking lot of the River Park Library on Mishawaka Ave.

Reuse

Hey! Do you ever feel bad because you forgot your travel mug , and got your coffee in a paper cup? Do you just love those Mocha Java Chip Frappecinos? Well, make yourself feel a little better. Here are a few ways to use those throw-away items. Take that paper cup and sleeve. The cup can be used to start plants in. Better yet, the sleeve can be used around the base of new plants in the garden to help stop cutworms from eating the young plant starts! You can also cut the bottom off your paper cup and make it into a sleeve. Put the sleeve around a new seed or young plant. Make sure the sleeve extends below the soil about 1".

How about those plastic cups with domes .. Yum! They make great seed starting terrariums. You may need to cut drain holes and put them on a plate.

Also you can pick up free coffee grounds which, mixed with soil will add nitrogen to your soil for those nitrogen loving plants. This year I may try starting my tomatoes right in the bag. Dig out about a cup of grounds , and replace it with soil. Plant a seed. Put holes in the bag , and put the bag on a plate.

Bringing in the New Year

As 2010 slips into my rear veiw mirror I cannot help but revisit all of Unity Gardens successes , and shortcomings in 2010 . With that information we can look forward and plan for 2011 .

I can honestly say that 2010 turned out better than we ever imagined . At this point we are in all new territory , and learning on the fly . The growth was amazing . from 1 garden in 2008 to 34 in 2010 . But the downside was we were a little stretched , and may have not supported the gardens as well as we should have . We were not able to put signs up on all the gardens. We did a few fundraisers which were successful , but not to the degree we need to sustain Unity Gardens long term. Our plans to do educational events fell short . While we did some it was not enough . We increased the amount of volunteers helping , but we need more . On the upside we grew huge amounts of food , brought folks from inside their homes out into the garden, we educated people in the garden , raised awareness , and developed a plan for 2011 .

What's up for 2011 . Learning from our 2010 season we are starting off the year with a series of classes on how to grow a vegetable garden . Classes will be held at the Potawatomi Conservatories , and at the LaSalle branch library staring in January . We also are planning a Summer series on healthy cooking habits, and a fall series on harvesting , and saving food . In 2011 we will have 2 school gardens . We are adding a educational Isle at the LaSalle Square Unity Garden funded by PNC Bank , and the Greenhouse Garden is setting up a educational composting area showcasing different ways to compost .

We put up a shaded shelter at LaSalle Square , and the 1/2 mile walking path is in progress .

Several gardens will be getting , benches , and picnic tables , and all gardens will be receiving Unity Gardens Signs .

Some creative ideas are being tossed around for better fund raisers .

Bike Ride for Unity , Raffles , a Unity Dinner , Luau , Plant Sale , PayPal donate button on the blog , and several other ideas . I am learning that non-profits are always fighting the battle with having enough operating funds. Hopefully it will get easier.

In January we will be painting signs for all the gardens, and will start installing them in April .

We will be working harder to be more efficient in our growing methods, and work hard early to get more volunteers into the gardens.

I am excited for a new season of growing to begin

Greenhouse Community Garden

The Greenhouse Community Garden sits behind the Potawatomi Conservatories, and is a shining example of what group of 24 people coming together can accomplish. Krista Bailey is the garden leader, and I have heard from some of her gardening group that the garden would not be anywhere without her organization skills . Its more than just about the garden for Krista. She lives a sustainable lifestyle . On any given day you may see her with her wagon heading to the garden , or she may show up at a garden opening on her bike. Krista also co-teaches a class on sustainability IUSB . She knows what she is doing when it comes to community gardens. She led the Americorp Community Garden group focusing on education, the environment , volunteer programs , and restoration .
A little history of the Community Garden; Late in 2007 a couple of people prepared a proposal to present to the city and the botanical society . In Oct of 2007 the proposal was accepted . Early 2008 the planning began . Discussions around garden design and management went from Jan to March . A cooperative framework was decided on . With 20 members ( or shares ) on board they decided on what to grow, with two shares in charge of each crop . The shares were responsible for securing seeds , finding best growing methods , and working the plot .
The first season was a roaring success . Many people toured the garden , attended workshops , an heirloom tomato tasting , and a end of the season open house .
Meanwhile on the other side of town another garden was growing . In 2008 Sara Stewart was growing an open community garden. She and Krista got together , and formed Unity Gardens in 2009.
The rest is history . In 2010 they became a non-profit 503-C with over 30 gardens . The Greenhouse Community Garden continues to stay true to it original framework of shared plots . They take a share of each harvest and donate it to a local food bank . Plans for next year include a harvest day for those in need , and a sharing shelf.
One of the things I like about the Greenhouse Garden are its use of a organic growing model . They also grow some experimental items including peanuts this year. This year they are doing a educational area showing the different ways to compost. Most of all the sense of community among its members .
So Thank You Krista, for not just your garden efforts , but also your work to protect our environment .

Beacon Heights Open House

Last Friday Unity Gardens had a open house at Becon Heights Apartments . Sort of a meet , and greet with our neighbors across the street from the LaSalle Square Unity Garden . Also a little bit of a mission to see how they like what we are doing , and what the see in the future for the garden , How will they use the garden . It was a little slow but folks came ito the clubhouse , had some snacks , and spent some quality time learning about the Unity Gardens . Some people knew about the gardens , some were new to the area , and had not seen te garden yet . Some things were clear . Like its a good place to get the kids out of doors, and teach them about healthy food . Some thought it was good to have healthy food close by . Some mothers would like a playground .

What I learn over , and over is that its a process of reaching people one at a time . The Unity gardens concept is a new one sharing , bringing people together , and building community . Its not just another community garden its for everyone not just select members . So far its working great one person at a time .