One out of Seventeen

The spring of my senior year of high school I made up my curriculum. I was very lucky to go to a school that supported this idea. I interned at the city paper. And I created a vegetable garden on campus. Even though I was on a serious senior slump, I put a lot of energy into that garden. And it was very successful.

Something got lost over the ten years that I didn’t garden, because the last 7 years we have attempted in some way to have a vegetable garden and have failed. Every year I have high hopes of eating, sharing, canning, and pickling. And we may get a handful of carrots.

So this spring I decided to get serious. I took a class through my local rec center. And got inspired!! The teacher was great – check her out here. She gave us lots of resources.

The best hint for us was to check out The Food Project’s web site. The Food Project describes them selves as: “engaging young people in personal and social change through sustainable agriculture.” In several towns through out eastern Massachusetts, teens work on growing food and leadership skills. The food is distributed through CSAs, Farmers Markets, and hunger relief organizations.   They also make and give away 4 foot x 8 foot raised beds to families in need. With the bed comes a manual of how to take care of them and what and how to plant the vegetables. You can find it here.

The manual is available to everyone. So we printed it out and got to work!

The manual is very accessible. Not a huge book that you need to commit to. The approach is very systematic. This was great for my husband who loves systems and often doesn’t have patience for my “feeling” my way through projects. So here are some pictures of our start.

The manual is free, but if you use the manual and/or want to support The Food Project’s efforts, here is a link to make a donation: https://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=1000762. Two Clever Mom’s simply used and enjoyed the manual, and are not affiliated with The Food Project in anyway.