Playing in the dirt
Kids dig into YMCA garden project
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MARSHALL -- The seeds were planted in small plots of dirt at the start of summer camp. On Tuesday, young campers put the fruits of their labor on display during an open house outside the Marshall YMCA.
The open house showcased plants such as tomatoes, beans and squash.
"Kids came with their parents or guardians, and showed what they were planting," said Ron Halgerson, a master gardener with the University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardeners of Lyon County.
All summer, campers at the YMCA have been working together with master gardeners and area community members to tend raised garden beds.
Master gardener intern Sharon Hennen said the gardens were "kind of a happy chaos." Campers each picked what plants they wanted to grow within 16 by 16-inch squares. Sunflowers, tomatoes and zucchini were some of the plants campers picked.
"It's been wonderful," Hennen said. "The kids are very good about helping each other, also."
The idea for the Y Kids' Garden was Hennen's. The requirements to become an Extension master gardener include taking a gardening course, and completing an internship project and volunteer work, Hennen said.
Hennen is a Y member, and she knew there were garden beds outside the facility that weren't fully planted. "My idea was to work with the summer camp kids on a garden project," she said.
Community donations, volunteers, and a partnership with the YMCA helped get the Kids' Garden started. Hennen said businesses like Ace Home and Hardware, D&G Excavating and Runnings donated materials to build some additional raised garden beds.
Community members also donated cash and garden tools, and volunteered to help garden with the campers every Tuesday.
"The community has been very good," Hennen said.
She said one of the community volunteers, Rita Engels of Ghent, had been at every single gardening session with the campers this summer.
At the open house, the children could also harvest some of the vegetables they've grown. Hennen said the campers will have to make some decisions about whether to harvest some of the veggies now, or see how big they get.
"It's been fun, especially now that there's one huge zucchini out there," Hennen said.