Garden ’n Grow Teaches Kids the Joy of Gardening

A Garden ‘n Grow student harvests cucumbers she has been tending over the summer.

A group of local fourth graders got their hands dirty this summer through Garden ’n Grow, a youth gardening program run in partnership with Lincoln University Cooperative Extension and the Boys & Girls Club of Jefferson City.

Up to 12 students participate in the program, working in six raised garden beds at Lincoln University’s community garden. Two children are assigned to a bed, and all gardening is done organically, using compost to enrich the soil.

Throughout the summer, participants tend crops including tomatoes, peppers, beans, corn, watermelon and cucumbers, with marigolds planted for natural pest control and basil planted alongside tomatoes to enhance flavor.

Children meet once a week in May during summer school, then twice a week in June and July, keeping journals to learn record-keeping and track their garden’s growth. The program wraps up in early August, and the garden transitions into Lincoln University’s community garden, maintained by Central Missouri Master Gardeners. The community garden is open to Lincoln faculty, staff and students and can also be used for classroom activities during the fall and spring semesters.

In addition to maintaining the garden, students take part in hands-on activities such as making stepping stones, identifying compostable materials and learning how to make and use rain gauges.

Garden ’n Grow students tend to their garden beds.

The children also take home any produce they harvest.

The program is led by five to six Master Gardeners per class, with Jessica Epple-Farmer serving as the Lincoln University contact and garden coordinator. Half the beds are planted by Master Gardeners in May, and the children plant the remaining beds when their program begins in June.

Garden ’n Grow has a long history in Jefferson City. It began in 2003 at Thomas Jefferson Middle School with just six students who tended garden plots outside the cafeteria. After a hiatus from 2005 to 2010, Master Gardener Liz Cordray helped relaunch the program in 2011 through a partnership with the Boys & Girls Club, eventually finding a permanent home at the community garden in front of the Dickinson Research Center.

Today, the program not only teaches plant growth, soil health and insect identification, but also encourages children to experience the satisfaction of growing their own food.

“My favorite thing about Garden n’ Grow is how excited the kids get about growing and harvesting vegetables,” said Cordray, a certified science teacher and Master Gardener. “It’s fun when they want to show me insects or to ask if something is ready to pick. I enjoy knowing they had fun and at least had the experience of growing vegetables they can eat and share with their families.”