Growing School Food Gardens

Hello! My students want to make a community garden at the front of our school. Would anyone happen to have any tips or ideas about how to do this successfully? They have mentioned wanting people to be able to pick straight from the garden, and they could help us keep it weeded (especially during the summer). Or we could put the garden somewhere else and have a fresh produce stand of some sort set up on the weekend? This is still a very new idea so any and all tips/ideas are welcome!

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Kristen Miles
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Hi Kristen,

You should contact your city's Master Gardeners. They may be able to send out a Master Gardener to assist with planning and starting the garden. You may find that you can join a network of community gardens in your city. Joining Garden to Table programs can sometimes result in supplies being purchased for you.

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Rachel Schwartz
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Hi Kristen,

University extensions have people to help you. I recommend asking a SNAP-Ed coordinator to help you. They are trained to help in Farm-2-School/Community projects. Master Gardeners are also available as volunteers to help per event but are limited in that they cannot provide labor, only education and advice.

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[Kathleen] [Lodahl]
[WSUExtension Coordinator SNAP-Ed]
[Washington State University]
[Kennwick] [WA]
[she/her]Kathleen
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