Growing a Healthy Generation this Earth Month
Uncle Matt’s plants an organic garden at Pine Ridge Elementary
At Uncle Matt’s Organic, growing a healthy generation is at the heart of our mission. We live by this every day by providing delicious, wellness-supporting organic juices for entire families. This Earth Month, we took our mission a step further by donating an organic garden to a local elementary school here in Clermont, Florida. Healthy generations start with the youngsters! We’re excited to share our organic, sustainable growing wisdom with students so they can put these methods into practice.
We all love to enjoy the tasty vegetables and herbs that grow in home gardens, a lot of time and work go into prepping and planting what will [hopefully] be a fruitful harvest. The Uncle Matt’s team took a thorough approach to making sure the Pine Ridge Elementary School students had the best setup in order to maintain their organic garden.
Our team started with laying a large ground cloth to help deter weed growth in the areas surrounding the garden boxes and within the soil itself. We then filled the four boxes with organic compost to provide a nutrient-dense base for the plants to grow. We spaced out each of the plants to give them room to flourish.
The school’s students also had a chance to get their hands dirty! They each took turns planting a variety of veggies and herbs all while learning the importance of farming without the use of harsh chemicals and toxic pesticides. We helped them plant squash, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, okra and more. Plus, we had an entire garden box dedicated to herbs like cilantro, rosemary, dill, basil, thyme and oregano.
The students were especially interested in the pollinator planter! They loved planting the bright colored flowers that will attract butterflies and bees. They also learned the importance of marigolds for helping to keep away pesky, unwanted insects from eating the produce.
While this might seem to be a small project in the grand scope of organic agriculture, it’s the lasting impacts that these types of hands-on activities provide for the students that make all the difference. We all have a responsibility to take care of the place call home, and this Earth Month, we’re proud to do our part by educating our next generation of organic growers!