THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 7, 1994 TAG: 9407040194
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: E10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HEIDI GLICK, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
With deft fingers, Michael Brashears, 11, picked and pawed at his own miniature garden until he found something ready to harvest - a carrot. He pulled the ripe vegetable out of the ground, ran over to a water spigot, rinsed it and started munching.
Between mouthfuls, he pointed out other leafy plants and vegetables in his small square garden: lettuce, radishes, pumpkin (which he calls his jack-o-lantern), watermelon, eggplant, catnip and lavender.
Every Saturday for about two hours, Michael works his piece of land, pulling weeds, planting vegetables, watering and the best part of all - harvesting.
He and about eight other children between the ages of 7 and 11 are each in charge of a 4-by-4 raised garden bed at the Virginia Zoological Park as part of a horticulture program called the 4-H Children's Garden. From March through July, the children meet at the zoo to learn about herbs, soil, ecology, food preservation, insects and diseases. They also take field trips to local garden centers and food markets.
The program costs $20 per child.
Mark H. Schneider, the zoo's horticulturist, started the program 13 years ago. He also has a similar program for blind adults and for people who are mentally or physically challenged.
Schneider, along with zoo and community volunteers, like the Master Gardeners, instruct the children on how to properly take care of their gardens.
Michael's mom, Cindy Brashears, says the two of them get up at 6:30 a.m. every Saturday in order to catch the bus to the zoo.
``He enjoys it,'' Brashears said. ``He's hyper. This gives him an outlet.''
``And it gives me food,'' Michael interrupted.
``I work at night so this is something we can do together,'' Brashears continued.
But, is the program worth getting up at 6:30 a.m.?
``Heck yeah!'' yelled Michael as he rushed off to inspect his friend's garden. ``Cause it's more fun.''
In a recent class, a nutritionist visited and talked to the children about eating healthy. During the class, the children munched on fresh cucumbers, carrots and celery.
``They're learning by doing and not just sitting in a classroom,'' Schneider said. In another session, the children learned about herbs so he brought in cream cheese with chives so that the children could taste herbs.
At another garden bed, Melody Crane, 7, was on her knees pulling out weeds.
She explained, ``The first thing I do is pick the weeds because if I didn't then the weeds will grow bigger. . . '' Her sister, Heather, 9, interrupted, ``And they'll choke the plants so they won't get any water and then they could get bigger. If there's too many weeds the plants won't grow.''
Nearby, Melody's twin sister, Katie Crane, pointed to some of her prized possessions - plants that will eventually produce a watermelon and pumpkin.
The children's mom, Pam Crane, has a small garden at home. But her children all wanted their own garden. ``I'm interested in them learning about gardens,'' she said and added that living in the city limits the amount of garden space they can have.
``I already picked two radishes and a carrot at my garden,'' Heather said excitedly. ``I'm going to put them in a salad.''
At another garden, some children were discussing how to tell when a pepper is ready for picking. ``You have to look at the size,'' 10-year-old Chrissy Martin said.
``It's supposed to get red,'' Heather added.
``No,'' argued Michael. ``Banana peppers don't turn red.''
``This one is,'' Heather said, pointing her toe at a reddish pepper on the ground.''
``That one got too much sun,'' Michael said.
Of all the vegetables and fruits, the children most enjoyed eating the tomatoes and carrots. As for the growing process, they favored tomatoes because of their rapid growth.
``Every time I come here they're bigger,'' Chrissy said. ``I really notice how they've grown.''
For Scott Robinett, 10, this garden might lead to bigger dreams.
``I might be a farmer when I grow up. It's fun to eat the stuff and sell it,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by HEIDI GLICK
Heather Crane, 9, left, and her sister Melody tend to their garden
at the Virginia Zoological Park as part of a 4-H horticulture
program.
Michael Brashears, 11, inspects a carrot that he pulled from his
garden.
by CNB