Union County Commissioner Rebecca L. Williams toured the Plainfield Housing Authority – Joann Hollis Garden in Plainfield!
We want to thank their gardeners for their work in maintaining such a diverse group of crops in this garden.
Union County Commissioner Sergio Granados attended a Union County Kids Dig in School Garden Tour at School 14 in Elizabeth.
Students participated in making their own flavored drinks by adding plants grown in their garden to their lemonade. Some of the plants added were sage and mint!
Everyone should give it a try.
Thank you for having us and maintaining a beautiful garden!
Union County Commissioner Rebecca L. Williams attended a Union County Kids Dig in School Garden Tour at Emerson Elementary School in Plainfield!
This garden is used to teach the kids effective methods of planting and sustaining a garden. One way this is done is by planting garlic.On this day we were able to harvest along with students and staff.
Thank you for letting us join!
We were visited once more by the UHS Key Club and 6 members of our garden community. Together, we planted additional pollinator vines and grow bags of tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs. The garlic is doing great! We just donated garlic scraps to the Senior Center on Rahway Avenue.
Our first workday of the 2024 Season: Lots of rebuilding of beds and new builds. We have expanded our garden to over 43 beds this year and added four height-assisted beds for our gardeners. As always, we had the UHA Key Club volunteers come to learn and help – they are fabulous group! Pictured are some gardeners as well and many builders.
Hillside
Ola Edwards Community School in Hillside have given us a tour of their garden!
We can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year!
Thank you to the staff and students who maintain this garden looking fresh as ever!
Plainfield
Cook Elementary staff and students have welcomed a rasied bed to their garden!
On this day, students participated in planting a variety on different crops, including squash.
Did you know that there are two different types of squash? These are summer and winter squash.
Summer squash, like zucchini, has think skin and can be eaten whole. Winter squash, like pumpkin, on the other hand have robust skin and seeds that must be removed before consumption.
Thomas Edison Career and Technical Annex are on their way to growing tomatoes!
Tomatoes come in different shapes and sizes. But did you know that they can be gold colored? When tomatoes were first introduced to Europe in the 16th century, they were small, golden, and cherry sized. This appearance gave them the name “golden apples”.
Westfield
Staff and students at Westlake School have welcomed us to their outdoor classroom in which they are growing a variety of plants and fruits!
One of those is a fig tree!
True or False: Figs trees have blossoms on their branches.
Answer: False- Fig Trees have NO blossoms on their branches. The blossom is inside of the fruit. These tiny flowers are able to produce the crunchy edible seeds that give figs their unique texture!
We can’t wait to see this tree at its full bloom!
Union County Chairwoman Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded was grateful to attend a School Garden Tour at Elmora School No.12 in Elizabeth.
Students at School No. 12 have added fun and colorful decorations to their garden as a means of making it pretty but also to keep animals away from eating produce. Thank you to the staff and students who keep this garden looking amazing.
