Author: Raymond Cox
Planning Unit: Harlan County CES
Major Program: Agriculture
Plan of Work: Improve and sustain agriculture production
Outcome: Long-Term Outcome
The 4-H Windowsill Garden Project is designed around the five steps in gardening, with a focus on careers and providing food for the family. The five steps are: planting, growing, caring, harvesting and consuming. All students in every elementary school in Harlan County participate in this project, reaching approximately 3,500 students this spring alone. This project also promotes project entries of vegetables in the Harlan County Fair. One student did a 4-H Demonstration on Windowsill Garden and Grow Your Own Tomatoes during the County 4-H Communications Day. During the month of April as we take ribbons into the school as the reward of growing their tomatoes we also give them a lesson and a flyer called “Grow Your Own Tomatoes.” The handout tells the students and parents how to take care and grow their tomatoes during the summer. In Windowsill Garden Project, students plant tomato seeds in a peat pellet cup and care for the seedlings for five weeks. During this time, students keep growth charts and record procedures for watering, and (if used) fertilizing. At the end of the five week period, students take their seedlings home, transplant them into gardens, buckets, flower pots or flower beds. In addition to schools' project, Windowsill Gardens are given out on Earth Day at Wal-Mart, reaching over 300 families. Evaluation experiences provide students feedback on this project. All students will be awarded 4-H Project Ribbons for their efforts. Blue, red, and white award ribbons will be given to the students to take home with their projects. Many students expressed that their tomatoes did very well last year and that they helped provide vegetables for the summer for their families. Students have been excited to participate this year in the annual project. Some students have grown tomatoes beginning in K-4, and were eager to let us know all the years they had been growing tomatoes
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