Gardening Clubs @ MHCA

It’s hard to imagine that there are only a few days left to August and summer is almost over. Fall is right around the corner which means it's time to acknowledge all the hard work that took place in the garden during the growing season and to reap the benefits from the fruits of what was sown.

What better way to enjoy the abundance of a garden while celebrating our upcoming fall season, than through "cultivating" a garden community within our school.

This year MHCA has offered to all it's students Gardening / Farm to Table Cooking Clubs.

Where our students have the opportunity to learn how to make their favorite snacks with garden-fresh produce, how to can, preserve, and pickle vegetables, as well as how to dry herbs, that can be used during the upcoming winter months.

Below are a few club project highlights that we will be working on and learning from during our first fall semester.

Fall Garden Maintenance:

An exploratory introduction to the garden site. First, we'll start out in the garden and use all our senses to examine roots, shoots, fruits, seeds and leaves. On this exploratory tour we will determine what plants were successful and those that weren’t. Hands on plant care and garden maintenance is taught in an effort to prolong the growing season. Club members learn how to maintain a garden while collectively weeding, cleaning up and preparing the beds for next year’s growing season.

Seed Saving:

Spending the afternoon learning about saving seeds for next spring’s garden. We’ll practice dry and wet seed saving techniques from vegetables, herbs, and flowers. While creating our own seed packets and labels with all of the information needed to have a successful garden next spring.

Harvesting Vegetables :

As a group, we discover what kind of bounty the fall season can bring to the vegetable garden. Using our taste buds as a guide we learn how to utilize in-season produce like giant acorn squash, pumpkins, potatoes, beets and carrots to create favorite at-home meals! In these fun, hands-on sessions, club members learn how to harvest ripe ingredients and gain a first-hand understanding of how the seasons influence the foods we’re able to grow and eat.

Preserving, Canning & Pickling :

We learn how to can, freeze and preserve vegetables, fruits and herbs. Whether it’s tomatoes, jams, salsas, applesauce, apple butter, or pickles, club members are taught easy step by step, simple, and safe canning methods, along with tips and tricks for preserving, and pickling foods, while saving money and eating healthier foods that have no additives or chemicals..... and have a much better taste!

Drying Herbs :

While the herbs from the garden are best used freshly picked, there is always more grown than you can use in one season. In these sessions, we will learn how to air dry herbs as well as the use of a food dehydrator. We learn the importance of retaining the essential oils of the herbs, so they don't lose all their flavor and can be used and enjoyed in cooking over the next several months.

Decorating & Designing from the Garden:

With the use of a pruner and a creative eye, we head out to the garden for some greenery such as ivy, boxwood, pine branches, rosemary and other fragrant herbs. In this session we learn how to use the last of the tomatoes, growing green on the vine, alongside fruits like pears, apples, even eggplants and peppers, are combined with fall flowers, to create natural, innovative, beautiful seasonal floral designs.