What’s Growing On? July 2022 News from Grow Education

by: Adam Davenport, Grow Education Program Manager

As with every school garden, the summer brings less students and more sun! In New Bedford, each of the Grow Education elementary school gardens sits in the middle of the neighborhoods they serve. Over the years, local residents have become familiar with the gardens and know that they are welcome to harvest vegetables from the garden as they ripen. This way, veggies that were planted with students before their summer break such as tomatoes, radish, cilantro, and dill will get harvested and enjoyed throughout the summer by the local community. This year we also planted several beds at each garden that we will keep unharvested for the remainder of the summer so they are ready for the students return in September. Students will begin the school year with an opportunity to taste-test the late tomatoes, along with some beets, potatoes, parsley and kale!  

The gardens are being watered and maintained by two of our returning FoodCorps teammates – Shalynn Brooks and Jenn Frates. They are doing a great job of keeping the gardens alive during a very difficult summer. Approximately 80% of Massachusetts is experiencing drought conditions and an estimated 21% is experiencing severe drought.