MOUNT VERNON — FFA members of Mount Vernon High School toiled this week in their first garden and are now reaping the reward — produce to donate to Interchurch Social Services of Knox County. The garden was planted behind the office of the OSU Extension Office on Harcourt Road.
Extension Horticulture Educator Troy Cooper explained, “Late last summer a couple of FFA students approached me and said they’d like to do a community garden and asked if I would help.”
“We received permission from the landowner, Tim Geiger, and the first thing we did was perform a soil test,” continued Cooper.
Cooper then applied for and received a $500 grant from the OSU South Central Endowment Fund. The money was used to pay for equipment rental to till the ground and pay for soil testing, fertilizer, and seed.
The Central Ohio Farmers Cooperative was instrumental in helping with the project. They donated the herbicide used to kill the grass and weeds, the lime, fertilizer and application of the products.
Colton Walker, FFA president, and Bailey Shipley, FFA recorder, have been the lead students on the project and they coordinated and recruited other volunteers.
