How Does Your Garden Grow?

The Children’s Department at the Watertown Free Public Library picked its first ripe garden tomato this week! Set in the yard between the library and the fire station and visible from the library craft room window, the two raised garden beds are part of the kids’ summer reading program.

This summer every Thursday afternoon at 1:30 preschoolers to fifth-graders come to water, weed and harvest. Over 260 kids are now registered in the summer reading program, and the children’s department hopes for a final count of 300. Both children’s and teen departments have record numbers of readers this year. Over 100 teens are participating in summer reading 2011.

An overall theme of global sustainability runs through all the children’s programming this summer.

Donating chickens, bees and goats through Heifer International is the major goal of our young readers, but the library garden is another part of that sustainability theme. Our kids are growing cherry tomatoes, peppers, mint, basil and squash. Marigolds provide color and natural resistance to garden pests. 

Many of the seven or eight children who come to the Thursday garden program are learning English and pick up new vocabulary with their garden activities. Children’s librarian Emily Miranda loves the idea that the garden provides new English words and an outdoor, growing experience for Watertown kids. It is also a real opportunity to talk with the kids about both our own food sources and world food sources.

Emily is supervising the entire program from May planting through October soil turn over. She makes sure that each child takes home some produce each week – a bit of mint, a cherry tomato, a sprig of basil. Each Thursday kids tell Emily what’s growing at their homes. Dandelions seem to be the major home crop, but some do have vegetable and flower gardens too.

Keep up with our garden and all the summer reading fun at www.watertownlib.org.