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Elizabeth KillingerNebraska Extension Educator
http://www.slideshare.net/ekillinger1
NEBRASKA EXTENSION SPECIAL GARDEN PROJECT
What It IsThe Nebraska Extension Special Garden Project originated as a way for youth to gain an interest in gardening, try new and unusual vegetables and flowers, provide the education necessary to be a successful beginning gardener, and educate youth about the wide range of plant-science related careers.
How It Works• The plant is selected• Counties report the number of youth
participating• Seeds are ordered• Seeds arrive & are divided and
distributed • Counties also send the youth a paper
evaluation/link to an electronic evaluation and a newsletter
Plant Selection• Ask for suggestions (within
reason)• Something fun I want to grow• Alternate between flowers and
vegetables• Contact the seed company and
ask for donation• Successful selections have
been those that can be direct seeded or container grown
Past Selections• Striped Armenian cucumbers for
its shape and fuzzy exterior • Firecracker Sunflowers for being
dwarf, bicolor, and pollenless• Amethyst Beans for the unique
color that changes when cooked• Love-Lies-Bleeding Amaranth for
the flower structure and edible grains
• White Satin Carrots for its lack of color
*Photos courtesy of Johnny’s Select Seeds, Johnnyseeds.com, 1-877-564-6697.
Taking Seed Orders• Figure out how many
seeds are needed for a ‘successful’ try
• Google form and google spreadsheet and ask counties to fill out
Seeds • Once seed
orders have been taken, add more
• Use bulk seed• Seeds arrive &
are divided by county and distributed
Newsletter• Plant fun facts• Plant history• Plant families• Planting basics-
location, how to plant, type of crop
• Plant care- watering, mulching, weeding, pests, & diseases
• Harvest and
storage• Exhibiting• Specifics on the
cultivar/variety• Recipes (when
appropriate)• Plant related
careers• Additional
information- seed tape
In Addition to Seeds• The counties are
sent a flyer to promote the project, a letter that includes examples of exhibits with the project, a newsletter, and a paper evaluation/link to an electronic evaluation for the youth
Additional Classes• ‘Special Garden
Project’ State Fair class for educational exhibits
• Classes allow youth to participate even with a ‘crop failure,’ ex. photo, story, essay, poem, exhibit of choice
Examples of Documents
Evaluation• Previous gardening
experiences • Three new things
learned• Planned changes for
next year• Planned new
methods• Careers
EvaluationsEvaluations were completed by 357 youth participants 2011-2014. Participants in the Special Garden Project reported: • 75.9% grew that particular cultivar of
plant for the first time • 55.4% learned new information about
gardening • 28.5% took a 4-H gardening project for
the first time
skills youth learned : • “The size of the seed has nothing to do with how
big the plant is going to be.”• "With the drought this year, they need more water
than you think; deer like to eat the leaves; plant one more just in case."
• "A few plants can produce a lot of beans; fertilization, watering and weed control are all very important to production."
• “If you are trying to grow and produce these in a certain time frame, you must pay close attention to when to plant them so they will be ready to harvest when you need them.”
Youth’s planned changes: • “Protect my plants better against
insects.”• "I want to try some newspapers around
plant to help keep weeds from growing."
• "Making a ditch around my plants for them to keep the water from draining away."
• “Interplant to make better use of my space. I also plan to compost and add the compost to my garden.”
Successes
Next Steps• Trial plants prior to selection• SGP 2.0 or ‘Advanced SGP’- possibly
look into more ‘difficult’ plants to grow• Perform a long-term evaluation of the
project
ConclusionThe goal of the Special Garden Project is to not only interest youth in gardening, but to arm them with life skills. Whether it is learning how to plant tiny amaranth seeds or how to keep weeds down in the garden, the Nebraska Extension Special Garden Project is teaching youth about gardening, one seed at a time.
Any Questions?Elizabeth [email protected]: @HuskerHorthttp://huskerhort.comhttp://www.slideshare.net/ekillinger1
Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln cooperating with the Counties and the United States Department of Agriculture. University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the United States
Department of Agriculture.
