Gardening Classes for Children To Be Held Near Suwanee

Suwanee resident Rosalie Tubre is president of the Lanier Community Garden. She also works with the Harvest Farm community garden in Suwanee. She has posted this article for Patch.

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Lanier Community Garden, located in Buford, announces the opening of a Children’s Garden to begin in April for grade levels second through sixth. This will be a unique opportunity for Gwinnett children to learn to grow organic vegetables by a group of Master Gardeners and other volunteers in the children’s own garden plot measuring 20' x 20'.

The classes are being offered beginning two days per week on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. The children will learn the technique of square foot gardening in growing some vegetables vertically, using companion planting methods, particularly the use of marigolds and nasturtiums to keep bad insects away, but the importance of beneficial insects, such as lady bugs and also bees and butterflies for pollination.

Beginning in April the children will be planting spring and summer crops from seed directly into the garden, such as carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, peas, radish, okra, summer squash, corn, pumpkins, gourds and small watermelons. Other vegetables that will need to be grown indoors and transplanted into the garden are tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. In addition, they will learn to grow parsley, and dill to be used to make dill pickles. 

Through the generosity of Gwinnett County this property was approved in 2008 as a local community garden located on the Lanier Water Filter Plant on BufordDam Road. Any parent interested in signing up their children will need to complete the required paperwork, which is being offered free-of-charge.

For more information contact Rosalie Tubre, President of the Lanier Community Garden, at rotubre@yahoo.com. More information is also available on the Lanier Community Garden website.