The Children's Garden
at Hart's Brook Park and Preserve - Cultivating Growth and
Success Among Our Youngest Citizens
Written by
Andrea Kish, Master Gardener Volunteer
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County
Harvest Party" bounty at the Children's Garden.
Pictured left to right, Emily, Divya, Kimiya, Andrea, Charlotte, Vincent.
Back in 2007, Hart's Brook Park and Preserve in Hartsdale, New York (in the town of Greenburgh)
was the beneficiary of a grant from the Lanza Family Foundation given to Cornell Cooperative
Extension of Westchester County by the late Master Gardener, Pat Lanza, in honor of her recently
deceased husband. Along with some help from the Town of Greenburgh, this grant enabled us to
build and fence 14 raised beds for a Children's Garden program. Children ages six and above sign
up with an accompanying adult to plant, tend and harvest a four foot by eight foot intensively planted
bed that they lay out using square foot gardening techniques.
A five pound 'Georgia Jet' sweet potato tips the scales after harvest.
In addition to learning the love of gardening, the children who participate in this program have also displayed talents in their cultivation of
teamwork and in their tenacity in coming back year after year, not to mention their enjoyment in eating what they grow. Several of the
children are now teenagers and have grown up into "Junior Gardening Mentors" with our Children's Garden program whose participants
include a rainbow of ethnic backgrounds.
Kimiya and Divya are long on enthusiasm as they display their foot long beans.
A highlight of each gardening season is our Harvest Party. Last year, one of our families was leaving us to move to Germany, so we held
the party on Labor Day weekend in order to bid them goodbye.
Last spring, we tried a new organic container variety of cauliflower, 'Janvel' and many of the kids were rewarded with cauliflower later in
the fall. Escarole is a favorite of one family and that resulted in a delicious escarole pie that we all enjoyed at the harvest picnic. Amid
the bounty of the harvest, Eric, one of our boys who is now often referred to as our "Pumpkin Mathematician"
employed "pumpkin math". His calculations included measuring circumference, weight and volume (only slightly bribed by the gift of a
pumpkin). He and his mom later brought me pitas made from the pumpkin.
Peifeng (left) and Eric "The Pumpkin Mathematician" (right), show the fruits of their labor.
Xi-Zhong, our intrepid "mad scientist" who first gardened with us as part of the Bailey School "Let's
Eat a Plant" program in 2007, has been experimenting with ways to control flea beetles on his
eggplants. In 2013 he counted (and counted) and hand-picked (and hand-picked) all the flea beetles
but still did not get any eggplant. Last summer, he covered one of his eggplant with Reemay (but not
until he actually saw evidence of beetles feeding on the leaves of his plant) and left another
uncovered as a control. In early July, once the plant had flowers, he removed the Reemay and
determined that the test plant had gotten well enough established to resist the attack of subsequent
generations of beetles and would still yield a crop. This year we planted a full bed of eggplant for all to
share. We put "Planters Paper" over the soil before planting and covered the plants with Reemay the
day we set them out. Xi-Zhong will monitor for flea beetles and report on the success of the
experiment at the end of the summer. Hopefully, we will enjoy a bountiful harvest.
Xi-Zhong, self described "Mad Scientist", has been experimenting with ways to control flea beetles.
By last season's end, we had harvested some bumper crops. 'Black Beauty' zucchini lasted into
October. Carrots were particularly rewarding since in the past
we have found it very difficult to germinate seed crops in a raised bed when watering only occurs
once or twice per week. Our success last year was due to our use of square foot seed mats
(purchased through an online gardening supply source) embedded with seeds of the carrot cultivar
'Envy'. For the first time the children learned the art of "thinning" and that sometimes less is more. We
also planted a bed of 'Georgia Jet' sweet potatoes. We harvested six five pound potatoes before the
voles found them and we had to share the remaining ones.
Eva and Allen brimming with accomplishment after pulling carrots.
As the gardening season came to a close, our last weeks were used to clean up the beds, add composted manure and plant the garlic
variety 'Music' that will be harvested this season. Reflecting on our many successes at the Children's Garden at Harts' Brook, I would
like to acknowledge the efforts of my assistant, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County Master Gardener Volunteer, Fran
Tomkowid who has since retired and moved out of the area. The kids loved her and last year she did a great job creating and
maintaining an herb bed that everyone enjoyed. One little boy even did a research paper on the harvesting and uses of horseradish.
Despite our efforts to dig out all the horseradish when they rejuvenated the herb bed with Fran last spring, the children learned that it is
not easy to eradicate a plant that spreads its roots far and wide.
And finally, a Haiku poem written by Arav who has been with us for six years:
Rain is falling down Lightning and thunder flashes
Water giving life
Water drips on leaves Gardens connect everyone
Nature provides life.
Arav beams with satisfaction among the vegetable plantings