STARS had its first gardening class Thursday, January 31. It began with Rebecca Peterson reading to the class the timeless book The Man Who Cooked for Himself by Phyllis Krasiask. The book tells about a man who becomes self sufficient through gardening.
Then the children divided into groups and tried to match seeds to the pictures of the food that it would become. They also tried to categorize the foods into their food groups and then into their root and stem systems.
The featured speaker, Art Davidson from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, talked about how Baker Creek Heirloom seeds are non-GMO, meaning they are tested to be sure they are not genetically modified. Davidson is a horticulturist and also does seed testing.
The class learned it is best to store your seeds in the freezer. The quality of the seed will last longer. They also learned to help preserve a wide variety of plant seeds after harvest. Baker Creek sends some of their seeds to a global seed bank in Norway that is located in a sandstone mountain.
Davidson answered many questions and gave away four books (two to children and two to adults). Each family was given a beautiful informative seed catalog from Baker Creek. If you would like one while supplies last, drop by the Foundation and pick up a copy.
A community garden for Cabool is being planned and STARS is very thankful to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for donating all the seeds for the garden, over an $800 value.
The next gardening class will be Thursday, February 14, at 7:00 p.m. To follow this program, visit www.thestarsfoundation.blogspot.com.
courtesy, The Cabool Enterprise
