SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL GARDENS 



One of the features of the Weld County Agricultural Fair, 

 in September, 1910, was the school garden exhibit from the gar- 

 dens of the Co!orado State Normal School. Here on a table 

 forty-five feet long were exhibited one hundred and five varieties 

 of garden products, all raised by the children of the Training 

 School, from the kindergarten to the eighth grade. Here the 

 garden lover found choice samples of old and new vegetables, 

 all most attractively displayed, and all most interesting because 

 they were grown by children. It was really surprising to find 

 the quantity, quality and variety produced by the little gardeners. 

 There were mammoth pumpkins and squash, a great quantity 

 and variety of root crops, such as salsify, turnips, carrots, beets, 

 parsnips, etc., besides onions, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, tomatoes 

 of four varieties, peppers and eggplants. One found, too, pea- 

 nuts, pop-corn, melons, cucumbers, lettuce, parsley, as well as 

 such farm crops as wheat, barley, broom corn, Kaffir corn, and 

 many others. 



Only twenty entries were made for competition, yet fifteen 

 prizes aggregating $22.50 were awarded. When one considers 

 that these vegetables, grown in small gardens by children, were 

 entered in competition with the products of ten and twenty acre 

 tracts handled by men having years of experience in gardening, 

 one can realize to some degree how excellent was the who 1 e 

 exhibit. The entire area given over to the school gardens at the 

 Colorado State Normal School is hardly an acre in size. For 

 some of the entries it took nearly every vegetable of the kind we 

 had. 



The exhibit attracted much attention and excited much in- 

 terest, especially on the part of children. Yet the grown-ups 

 were very much interested and made many favorable comments. 

 Since school children were admitted to the Fair free one day, 

 nearly all the children of the city, as well as many from the 

 country, saw the exhibit. Undoubtedly, this exhibit had a great 

 educational value, for it showed the possibilities of a little gar- 

 den well tilled ; it demonstrated, also, that a great variety of gar- 

 den produce can be successfully grown in this region. I hope, 

 that the exhibit brought to the people, the great educational 

 value school gardening may have. All the children were -enthu- 

 siastic. The exhibit, undoubtedly, was a great stimulus, for those 

 who had gardens will try to do better this year, while the others, 

 in town and country, will have gardens of their own. The big- 

 pumpkins and squash were patted and admired by every boy 



