Growing Together: Open Forum

Hey gardeners!

We opened a new community this week on the Kids Garden Community called "Growing School Food Gardens". This community is funded by a USDA Farm to School Implementation Grant and is part of an effort to provide additional support to anyone who is growing food with kids in a school garden. 

If this is something you're doing - or if it's something you would like to do - join this community! (You can also find this community in the "All Communities" list when you are logged in to the Kids Garden Community.)

Plus, join us for a welcome webinar on 2/8 to learn more and meet fellow members and community coordinators. 

Members will be able to access resources and receive support and connect with each other via discussions, webinars, and coaching calls. 

Please note that this community is open for any Kids Garden Community member to join but you must sign up to be able to fully participate in discussions and attend events (click image below to see). You will see a limited preview if you are not signed up. 

Let me know if you have any questions!



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Amelia Dupuis
Kids Garden Community Manager
KidsGardening
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Hi!  I am so excited to see this site!  My name is Annetta Book.  I am a high school teacher in Vidalia, Louisiana.  I teach Life Skills, Food Services, and incorporate Agriculture every opportunity I get.  I am the Home Economics teacher.   We have a school garden that I started and am very happy to continue.  We use our produce in our cooking labs and send some home as well.  Lots of students have tried different things for the first time here in my food labs.  We were fortunate enough to receive a grant from Big Green (@biggreen #BigGreenJumpStart ) to expand our garden with an outdoor classroom.  We are gearing up for spring planting in the coming weeks and looking forward to planting sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, beans, squash.  Last year we planted and harvested pumpkins, cantaloupe, cucumbers, tomatoes, mustard greens, turnip greens, radishes, swiss chard, broccoli, carrots, kale, and different lettuces.  So happy to have a dedicated space and forum!  Thanks and looking forward to making everyone's acquaintance.  I am a full time teacher so my time online is rare, but I do check when I can.  Thanks again!  my email is abook@cpsbla.us​

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Annetta Book
Vidalia High School
Vidalia LA
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FYI, promotion of the crops you are growing (non "row crops" but vegetables) may qualify for a USDA Specialty Crops grant through your state department of agriculture. (I believe it's a nationwide thing). See https://www.ldaf.state.la.us/consumers/agro-consumer-services-dairy/specialty-crops-program/.
Deadline to apply March 15.


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Carol Kinsley
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-04-2022 11:58:16 AM
From: Annetta Book
Subject: Growing School Food Gardens community is live!

Hi!  I am so excited to see this site!  My name is Annetta Book.  I am a high school teacher in Vidalia, Louisiana.  I teach Life Skills, Food Services, and incorporate Agriculture every opportunity I get.  I am the Home Economics teacher.   We have a school garden that I started and am very happy to continue.  We use our produce in our cooking labs and send some home as well.  Lots of students have tried different things for the first time here in my food labs.  We were fortunate enough to receive a grant from Big Green (@biggreen #BigGreenJumpStart ) to expand our garden with an outdoor classroom.  We are gearing up for spring planting in the coming weeks and looking forward to planting sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, beans, squash.  Last year we planted and harvested pumpkins, cantaloupe, cucumbers, tomatoes, mustard greens, turnip greens, radishes, swiss chard, broccoli, carrots, kale, and different lettuces.  So happy to have a dedicated space and forum!  Thanks and looking forward to making everyone's acquaintance.  I am a full time teacher so my time online is rare, but I do check when I can.  Thanks again!  my email is abook@cpsbla.us​

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Annetta Book
Vidalia High School
Vidalia LA
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My name is Marjorie Wakefield.  I teach at Springfield Catholic High to juniors and seniors as a semester class.  I have the privilege of using a 30' by 30' greenhouse.  We have successfully grown tomatoes in the past, several varieties that will continue to flower in colder temps (45 deg), this year we are successfully growing and sharing cucumbers.  We have hydroponics channels where we have grown lettuce in the past (enough to share with local charity), but this year not so good, but we have hydroponic strawberries that we are trying, they are blooming, but no berries yet.  We will be starting bedding plants after we come back from spring break as no one will be around to water. Feel free to browse my weebly page as I have collected many of my teaching resources there.
mwakefield-scs.weebly.com

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Marjorie Wakefield
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How did your hydroponic strawberries turn out, Marjorie?

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TLC (Tracey) Nielsen
Grayslake Community HS District 127
Grayslake IL
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-06-2022 12:52:24 PM
From: Marjorie Wakefield
Subject: Growing School Food Gardens community is live!

My name is Marjorie Wakefield.  I teach at Springfield Catholic High to juniors and seniors as a semester class.  I have the privilege of using a 30' by 30' greenhouse.  We have successfully grown tomatoes in the past, several varieties that will continue to flower in colder temps (45 deg), this year we are successfully growing and sharing cucumbers.  We have hydroponics channels where we have grown lettuce in the past (enough to share with local charity), but this year not so good, but we have hydroponic strawberries that we are trying, they are blooming, but no berries yet.  We will be starting bedding plants after we come back from spring break as no one will be around to water. Feel free to browse my weebly page as I have collected many of my teaching resources there.
mwakefield-scs.weebly.com

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Marjorie Wakefield
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Original Message:
Sent: 8/18/2022 10:16:00 AM
From: TLC (Tracey) Nielsen
Subject: RE: Growing School Food Gardens community is live!

How did your hydroponic strawberries turn out, Marjorie?

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TLC (Tracey) Nielsen
Grayslake Community HS District 127
Grayslake IL
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