The Simpson County Extension Agents for Agriculture and 4-H Youth Development worked jointly to provide new programs during COVID-19, with home vegetable gardening resources being in high demand since the onset of the pandemic. As a result, our joint gardening programs began with Drive Thru Container Garden Kits where Extension provided some 200 families with everything they needed to grow tomatoes, zucchini, and/or herb gardens last year.  

This year Simpson Co. Extension Agents continued the home container gardening programs this year with a variety of container garden options for all ages.  The 4-H Agent partnered with Community Education to hold a Spring Break Salsa Container Garden Class and a Pizza Container Garden Class in May where 25 youth planted everything needed to make either fresh salsa or pizza sauce. The gardens included herbs, peppers, tomatoes, and onions, along with flowers to attract bees for pollination.  

Extension Agents offered community Squash Container Gardening Kits complete with squash seeds, growing instructions, a 5 gallon bucket with pre-drilled drain holes, potting soil, a SNAP vegetable brush, Plate It Up recipes, a 2021 NEP recipe calendar, and a Gardening in Small Spaces UK publication.  Tractor Supply Company Distribution Center continued their sponsorship of the container gardens by donating the buckets and potting soil valued at over $1,000.  Approximately 100 squash container garden kits were distributed to Simpson County families in June.  An instructional video featuring Simpson County Extension Agents was recorded and uploaded to the Simpson County Extension YouTube channel for those growing the squash container gardens.  Simpson Co. Extension Agents were also asked to participate in the Vermont Thread Gage Employee Health Fair in May, where we gave out squash seeds and home gardening information to 45 employees.

In addition, a 4^th grade teacher in Simpson County reached out to the 4-H Youth Development Agent in April requesting a container garden program for her classroom.  She had a student who didn’t always have enough food to eat at home and wanted to teach her how to garden.  As a result the 4-H Agent partnered with Community Education to plant lettuce container gardens with 26 students in this classroom.  The container gardens were taken home and cared for by the students, including teaching the students how to harvest their lettuce.  Here’s what the teacher shared on social media, “I want to let everyone know how amazing our community is. I reached out to several community members for help in providing more fresh fruits and veggies to my students. Our first adventure was planting lettuce bowls for all of my students to be able to take home so they could harvest fresh lettuce throughout the summer. Catherine Webster and Robin Hollingsworth showed up in a big way. They provided every single item needed to plant Oak Leaf lettuce bowls. I personally cut some for a salad three days ago, and it was delicious! My students have shared photos with me as well of their lettuce. I’m so very thankful for our community and all that they do for our students.”