The Growing and Nourishing Healthy Communities Garden Course, which is funded, in part, by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), helps increase the availability of fresh produce through teaching participants how to grow fruits and vegetables in community and backyard gardens. The gardening series includes topics such as how to select the right garden location, planting and watering techniques, controlling insects, and composting. By incorporating cooking demonstrations using the produce grown, participants learn how to prepare the produce they harvest.
5
Goals
*Participants will be able to
identify the characteristics of a suitable garden site
*Evaluate soils and identify the main components as sand, silt, clay, or loam
*Make compost and know what materials are best for home composting
*Create "pots" from newspaper and use them to plant seeds or seedlings to begin a garden
*Identify good maintenance practices common to vegetable gardens
*Keep a garden journal to help observe plant health and growth, investigate
*Problems, and record measures taken to resolve problems
*Identify causes, symptoms, prevention, and treatment of common vegetable disorders and diseases
*Detect common insect pests and beneficial insects
*Follow best practices for harvesting, handling, and storing produce
*Learn how to save seeds
If you are interested in participating in the Growing and Nourishing Healthy Communities Garden Course feel free to contact your Zapata Extension Office at (956) 765-9820 or stop by at 200 E. 7th Ave., Suite 248 Zapata, TX.