With Ontario Garden Week kicking off on Saturday, the Elmira and District Horticultural Society’s junior gardeners have been busy preparing their plots.
The group of five started in May and will tend to their gardens beside the Elmira Skate Park until September.
![Jillian Beamer, Sarah Forester and Nicole Forester have been working on their gardens of vegetables, herbs, and flowers since May. [Whitney Neilson / The Observer]](https://www.observerxtra.com/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/post_gardening.jpg)
“When I asked them last year what would they like to plant this year corn was one of them,” organizer Irene Dickau said. “And then I thought ‘okay, corn.’ One girl had success with her squash so I will do the three sisters: the corn, the squash, and the beans. I’ve given them five flowers they’ll grow. They will have an herb again like last year they have to research and do a little spiel on it.”
The gardeners showed off their progress to their family on Wednesday. Some of their parents helped with the initial planting. Dickau will also be teaching them about heirloom seeds. The corn they planted was an heirloom, so they’ll learn the differences between that and modern strains. They’re also hoping to attract some monarch butterflies with the common milkweed they planted.
Last year’s gardeners fared well for the most part.
“We had pretty much success in growing all the crops. There may have been one or two where the crops did not develop but then that was also an issue with the child not cultivating or not paying attention to what was growing and that takes a little time to develop,” Dickau said. “The one had planted pumpkins and probably the little seedlings got stomped on or cultivated or something.”
There was plenty of rain last summer, which meant less watering. They just had to keep on top of the weeds. Participants harvested tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, carrots, onions, and beets. She notes the onions were especially good.
A groundhog caused some issues, so they had to secure their fencing to keep him from tunneling in to chop off the plants. This marks the third year for the junior gardeners.
“The first year that I started we had 10. But there Barb Finn had gone into the schools and drummed it up. We have some difficulties. Ten is a good group if they’re all keen on gardening. We’ve been talking about the drop in getting kids into the club,” Dickau said.
They’re considering increasing the age grouping. Right now it’s open to children seven to 10, but they might change the age limit to 11 or 12 to attract more children.
“I know some families you get one of the children to come and the others aren’t ready yet. That was the case in the one family where the oldest daughter started and she went two years and now the youngest daughter is going two years,” Dickau said.
The horticultural society will also be celebrating Ontario Garden Week with a trip to St. Jacobs Country Garden on June 15 to learn about fairy gardens.
As for why they started this club, she said it helps keep the kids occupied and engaged in the community. They’re also spending more time outdoors, learning, and gaining an appreciation for where their food comes from.
“This is a foodie area and I hear it from my relatives, ‘oh you’ve got such a nice area for all of this produce.’ So these kids need to know this gardening. And gardening is a top pastime for people. And they get their own food, they take it home and eat it and that way they learn to appreciate other food stuff,” Dickau said.
