Learning By Doing: Gardening 101

Today I went on my first  SAE visit and it made my day, even though I was not the teacher that guided this student, I was so excited to see the amount of learning that took place through this one project.

 The student was able to acquire access to a small patch of ground near his home, a community member that wants to see young people engaging in agriculture. This student had no idea what he wanted to do with this, so he approached his Ag teacher, who suggested he start a garden. The student loved the idea and wanted to jump right in, however he soon realized that a lot of planning goes into a project like this. They began by selecting a market, he wanted to utilize a road side stand but was encouraged to try and have people buy shares into his project and then fill their produce orders each week. The student was able to find 3 people to take part in his shares program and Mr. Fellenbaum, the Ag teacher, was able to connect him with a local produce farm that would buy the unmarked products, they then planned which produce could be marketed the best, and with that the plowing and planting began.

Today was not the first time Mr. Fellenbaum visited with this student; he has been guiding him through this project periodically, but today was his scheduled SAE visit. This SAE was amazing in the fact that this student learned more than you could ever hope and plan for. We began the visit by walking through the garden area and talking about each of the plants the student had chosen to grow. As we walked the student told us about the plants, the harvests, and the problems he has encountered. Once going through all of this Mr. Fellenbaum asked about his future plans, the student talked about how soon he may plant broccoli and cauliflower but still wasn't sure. We then discussed the time commitments for these fall crops and the market for them; I think he has been convinced to give it a try.

 The student was then excited to share with us his plans to grow potatoes next year, but he explained how he would need to do a lot more research because he knows nothing about them. It was awesome to see someone so excited about potatoes, this then lead into a short discussion about the soil type and whether or not it would be good for potatoes, a great teachable moment.

 At this point the student had exhausted all he had to say, and some key questions were then asked such as, What did you learn? What would you do differently? Will you continue this SAE next year? How could you expand this SAE? And have you realized the importance of planning?

I was amazed; the student had an answer for all of these. What did you learn? Its more than just putting seeds in the ground, there is a lot of planning, marketing, and strategy.

What would you do differently? I would plant the beans further apart so I could till in between them instead of having to hand weed, and I would have consired the fact that I can't drive more carefully when choosing crops that would need to be picked every day or two.

Will you continue this SAE next year? I don't know, since I have this connection with the produce stand I may just work for them next summer.

Then to top it all off the conversation ended with talking about how the marketing was going, the student informed us that he hasn't been able to get rid of his beans, his fridge was full, the produce stand had plenty, and he had more to pick today that he did not know what to do with.

Mr. Fellenbaum suggested he donate them to the local church who delivers fresh produce to families in need, a great suggestion that the student sincerely said he would do.

From this one freshman SAE the student learned the importance of planning, he learned gardening practices, he made community connections, he developed his thought process, he learned the ups and downs of running a business, he learned about marketing, he became involved with his community and he will be giving back to his community to help others.

 

This student may never grow another vegetable again in his life, but he will always remember his experience and carry those skills with him throughout life.

This visit was nothing short of amazing, which sounds cheesy I know, but this is one of those moments that makes me want to be an Ag teacher and one day see my own students accomplish this much, from something as simple as a plot of ground and a few seeds.