By Derek Cornet

Food production education focus of La Ronge school garden

May 24, 2018 | 5:00 PM

Students at Churchill Community High School are learning about the process of gardening.

Teacher Melissa Cromarty’s Alternate Program class of Grade 10-12 students were at Patti’s Greenhouse earlier today selecting the produce they want to plant in the school’s garden. It’s all about learning where food comes from, Cromarty said, as she believes younger people don’t realize all the steps involved in growing it.

“By them seeing the plants and going through the process of growing the food, then they know where food comes from and have a better appreciation for it,” she said. “Maybe they’ll also develop the skills to eventually grow their own gardens.”

With the five raised beds the students have access to, Cromarty noted they’ll be planting strawberries, potatoes, zucchini, and herbs. She added the class is also looking into planting fruit trees, as well as increasing the numbers of beds in the garden. Once the garden is harvested in the fall, the food will be used by the school kitchen to make lunches.

Cromarty went on to say students are also creating the soil for the garden through composting food waste. The school kitchen provides them with spoiled or uneaten food, so the class is able to witness the growing process in its entirety.

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“Sustainable food production in the North and the cost of groceries is a real issue,” she said. “Kids should learn how to grow food. It’s much healthier than the stuff people can buy at the stores.”

Patti’s Greenhouse owner Patti Adams said now is a popular time for planting seeds in the ground as many people are still weary of freezing overnight temperatures. Since seeds take a week to 10 days to breach the soil, she noted there’s a low risk for any kind of damage. If it does reach zero degrees Celsius, she suggests covering plants with a light sheet.

The growing season in La Ronge is relatively shorter than other part of the province, Adams said, but the region experiences long days which makes up for it. She also noted people should be careful not to over water their plants because of the recent heat, adding a plant being too wet is worse than being too dry.

“A lot of people get worried their plants are going to dry out, so they over water and that’s actually harder on the plants because they have no way to breathe,” Adams said.

derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno