Annual Gardening: Learn how to grow, tend, and harvest fruits, vegetables, and herbs in an annual garden.

Level 1: This badge begins by introducing young farmers to basic garden tools, a variety of annual plants, and some growing and harvesting techniques. We begin by discussing a few of the vegetables, herbs, and fruit crops we grow at Meadows Bee Farm. We explain how we might grow and then harvest these crops, how to cook them, as well as some of their nutritional and medicinal benefits. We discuss the mutual importance of flowering plants for insects and bees within our gardens and farm. Students learn the science of companion plants, such as tomatoes and basil, and the traditional Native American Three Sisters combination of corn, beans, and squash. Upon putting time and effort towards earning this gardening badge, we practice gardening, planting, watering, weeding, and composting. We learn that different plants need different amounts of water and sunshine, that some roots and weeds can be eaten and also worked back into the soil to nourish future gardens as “green fertilizer”. We show the students how composting adds nutrients to the soil, making crops more productive and nutrient dense.
When ready, the students harvest the crops themselves, tasting and experiencing different flavors and textures. Later they will learn to prepare and process a variety of our farm foods. The exercise culminates with students illustrating their own garden design to share and review with their peers, teachers, and families.