Today marked the inaugural graduation of our first Garden Workshop participants. The folks from the Greenville community learned about all types of helpful gardening tips. The two week series included information on watering, composting, soil composition, crop rotation, pruning, weeding, helpful resources, harvesting, worm-compost, planning, planting, and much much more. Everyone was able to get some hands on experience in the Furman Farm and see how things like composting function at the farm. They also helped volunteer with Tori Hedden, the assistant farm manager, in the garden. We hope that the participants left educated and inspired to work in their own gardens at home. Our second round of Gardening Workshops has already begun with community members from Scott Towers in Downtown Greenville. Their first session concluded with many participants picking flowers and vegetables to take home with them.
Some of the community members of Scott Towers
Bruce Adams completing round one of our Garden Workshops
The first session of our Garden Workshop has begun for six Greenville community members. The no-cost workshop consists of four sessions over the span of two weeks. Community members are given time inside the Shi Center for Sustainability to learn more about gardening followed by time in the Furman Farm. The time in the Furman Farm allows community members to learn hands on how an organic garden is managed. Bruce Adams, the Furman Farm Manager, led the first class on planting tips for home gardeners. He covered a wide array of topics, such as soil composition, pesticides, and crop rotation. Many community members were engaged and active in asking questions about applying this useful information to their own personal gardens. Are you interested in getting plugged into our next Organic Gardening Workshop? Contact Rebecca Hurley at Rebecca.Hurley@furman.edu.
First workshop session being taught by our farm manager
Walking introductory tour of Furman Farm
So we have been checking up on the community garden at the Woodlands. We are definitely garden novices so we didn't know what to expect. But, we have had a lot of great guidence by Furman Farm managers, Torri and Bruce. The Woodlands community members have really taken ownership of the plants so far. We heard today that residents have been switching off on tending for the plants. Their dedication has really shown. Here is some photo documentation that the plants really are growing. The cucumbers and squash have grown immensely since planting them 2 weeks ago. We are hoping the squash and cucumbers will grow down the sides of the boxes and onto the ground. The peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and flowers have been trying to keep up.
Rebecca showing off the basil she swiped.
Woodlands residents came out for our summer planting day kick off on Thursday. Assisted living and memory support residents joined Furman community members. We planted all sorts of vegetable plants and flowers, including tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, marigolds, petunias, and peppers.
Building began last week of the Woodland's community garden . The Woodlands at Furman is one of the upstate's premier life care retirement communities. Furman University students Rebecca Hurley and Dan Weidenbenner with professor Dr. Michelle Horhota initiated the project. A three tabletop garden beds were built for older adults in need of a little assistance. Additionally, a raised garden bed was built for independent living residents at the Woodlands.
