Can You Dig It?

Nicholson School Kids get to dig in the dirt!

By Sheri Bethard, President Montgomery County Master Gardeners

Last Friday, Anita Arnold, Priscilla Zachary and Beth Low, members of the Montgomery County Master Gardeners, and with the help of retired teacher Jerilyn Yerkes, opened the Nicholson School Garden with the help of 18 students in grades three and four.

Altogether, there were about 60 students who were interested in getting their hands in the soil and helping. The students, with the help of the Master Gardeners, planted Marigolds, three types of lettuce and spicy greens all in one of the raised beds and called it the Salad Bowl. The kids loved the name.

In the other raised bed, herbs were planted such as basil and thyme. The existing strawberry bed had been cleaned out several weeks ago and the berry plants were full of flowers and started producing strawberries. The students were excited to see strawberries in their beginning stage of producing the fruit.

In addition, they planted three varieties of potatoes. The Master Gardeners will continue working with the students during their recess time to finish planting the rest of the vegetables over the next few weeks. After school ends, on June 13, we will start the summer garden club running through July. The students will be able to come on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons to work in the garden, weeding and watering. And when the vegetables are ready to pick, they will do the pickin’ being able to take home what they want. Any vegetables that are not taken by the students will go to a local food kitchen for use.

A special thanks to Sean Grady for tilling the garden and Nate O’Neal and his crew for taking out problem overhanging limbs and opening an additional 10 feet by 30 feet section to the garden.

Master Gardeners have been working with students in the garden since 2017. It has been and still is a fun, rewarding program to be working with the students in the garden.