Gardening with Others: Lessons Learned
Gardening with others is a way to make connections, share stories and family history, experience the wonder of putting a small seed into soil and watching it grow. It is listening, teaching and caring for others.
Growing up in Virginia, my sister and I were expected to participate in the garden with our mother. Some memories, like pulling Bermuda grass or picking okra, were not particularly pleasant. But others—like harvesting green beans, squashes, tomatoes, and enjoying them in meals—are priceless memories. My mother modeled the discipline of tending and caring for a garden. I so appreciate her passing on her love of growing things!
With my own children, gardening experiences united us: spending time together digging in the dirt, growing vegetables and flowers, finding worms, caterpillars, and ladybugs. Good memories were created when we didn’t worry about getting dirty, watched their wonder in appreciating crawly things, praised their efforts, and shared laughter.
These days, working with youth at Mother Lode Regional Juvenile Detention Facility has been an education for us. Listening to their stories of gardening with their grandmothers, sharing techniques for planting squash seeds, and experimenting with new plants has been a growing experience for us as well as the youth. Encouraging them to share things they have learned from family members and being open to trying a method different than my own experience has provided ways for all of us to experiment and learn from one another. We connect, affirming new ideas and ways to grow and learn.
Some youths are from Native American backgrounds, so we applied the Three Sisters method, from their tradition, of planting corn, beans and squash together. Corn plants supply structure for beans to climb, beans add nitrogen to the soil and squashes shade the soil to conserve water. Vertical structure makes it easy to harvest. This was a shared experience of anticipation as seeds sprouted and grew into vibrant plants. We learned patience as we waited for results and the future enjoyment of the “fruits of our labor.” We honored a long-time tradition with the Three Sisters, a beautiful and interconnected use of resources.
One thing we’ve learned working with new gardeners is that planting some things that deliver quickly is a great way to keep people engaged. Radishes, for example, germinate in five to seven days and some varieties mature within a couple of weeks—a fun way to encourage, reward and create success. Watching these young gardeners enjoy freshly grown broccoli, tomatoes, squashes, cantaloupe, and radishes right off the plants is truly inspiring. Master Gardeners are proud to be able to contribute to Tuolumne County’s program involving our youth.
Gardening with our fellow Master Gardener volunteers has been a wonderful, shared experience. We bring different skills, teaching styles, and a variety of knowledge and gifts. We’ve learned from one another and grown friendships. Gardening with others provides connections, friendships, shared knowledge, praise and encouragement. Passing on a love of growing things, learning to share, being open to new ideas is a recipe for a good life!
Nancy Bliss is a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener of Tuolumne County.
