(158) Gardening Made Easy—Teaching Organic Gardening at a Land-grant University

Abstract

An organic gardening class was developed to provide nonhorticulture students an opportunity to become acquainted with horticultural science and the basics of gardening organically. The course was developed as a 3-hour (1 hour lecture, 2 hours lab), two-credit course taught in the fall semester using an organic gardening textbook. A major component of the lab is the development and maintenance of a small individual garden plot during the semester. Students grow their own plant materials, plant, fertilize, and monitor pests, and harvest at the end of the semester. The organic gardening class was taught for 7 years and evolved into having a mandatory service-learning component that supports service projects in the local community. Projects included working with the local farmers' market, supporting school projects such as growing plants, school grounds beautification, gardening, or mulching, and gleaning product from research and garden plots for the local food bank. The poster will provide information on the class syllabus and materials, record of service projects, and reflections of the students during and at the end of the class.