Recycled containers such as cans serve as great starting pots for plants then planted them in the garden beds Counselor Kelner and parent Jodi Rothfeld planned lessons and led classes in gardening Students learned about plant life cycles healthful eating sustainability using resources so they are not depleted and horticulture growing and managing garden 6
plants During the summer more than twenty volunteer families cared for the garden with the kids thoroughly involved in watering weeding and harvesting When school started again students and teachers harvested the many vegetables The MPE garden started small but the enthusiasm of students teachers and parents was contagious Parent involvement made it a community garden and plans quickly evolved to extend the growing season into the spring fall and winter so that all students not only summer volunteers could participate In 2015 the MPE garden was selected as one of twenty winners of the Youth Garden Grant sponsored by the Kids Gardening division of the National Gardening Association This grant donates money tools plants and supplies to winning gardens to ensure that their gardening projects can continue Gardening projects such as the MPE garden are on the rise Gardens produce healthful and delicious fresh foods Even though gardening is hard work it is also great fun and it teaches many skills making gardeners more self-sufficient Early American Farms and Gardens Since people began settling into villages they have grown gardens Through trial and error they learned which plants grew well in their particular soil and climatic conditions They often developed a deep knowledge of these plants and used this knowledge to improve their gardens For example the Iroquois nation of the northeastern United States used companion planting growing plants with complementary characteristics together in their three sisters gardens 7
Case In Point The Three Sisters When European settlers arrived in America in the early 1600s the Iroquois had been planting three sisters gardens for more than 300 years The Iroquois discovered important practical reasons for growing corn beans and winter squash together The tall corn plants serve as poles for bean plants to climb Bean roots add nitrogen to the soil fertilizing the corn Squash mulches or covers and protects the soil around the corn and bean plants Although mulches are often dead organic materials such as decaying leaves or straw the huge leaves of living squash work well too They provide insulation meaning water is retained sun does not bake the soil and weeds cannot grow At the end of the season the dead squash plants can be left in place to add nutrients to the soil In these ways the three plants thrive together improve the soil and make the gardener’s work much easier When grown together the plants require less weeding and watering Letting the beans grow upward means there is no need to bend to pick them There is less need to fertilize because the bean plants and remains of all plants add nutrients and organic matter to the soil Together the three sisters make a nearly complete human diet beans provide protein corn provides carbohydrates squash provides vitamins and squash seeds and corn provide oil Before the Industrial Revolution most European Americans were farmers Farms in the 1800s were small producing small amounts of many crops Farm families planted gardens and raised chickens cattle and hogs some of which they butchered for meat Except for flour salt and sugar farmers grew all the food they needed to feed their families 8
Families planted vegetables and fruits in excess to ensure they had enough food to last through long winters To prepare for winter they harvested and canned They saved seeds from year to year to ensure they had seeds to plant and they tried various seed types to determine what grew best on their farmland Many staple food crops in the mid-1800s were root crops including potatoes beets rutabagas parsnips and turnips Root vegetables are large and because they are rich in carbohydrates and nutrients they are very filling This was important to farm families who worked hard and had little food except what they grew Root crops also Many farmers and gardeners still preserve excess produce by canning it 9
