KTTC News Feature

KTTC news interviewed intern Megan Thompson and took footage of the youth putting in the pond and tending the vegetables. Also in the garden this week, guest speaker Bob Goetz taught about purple martins, and youth took a nutrition hike to the future rain garden site. Click on the image above for pop up video from KTTC.

2nd Annual Jam Demonstration

Elaine Braaten, left, demonstrates how to make raspberry jam for children and women, including Ethan Johnson, 7, Alexis Longoria, 14, and her sister Alicia, 5, and Jolene Heimer. Braaten was raised on a farm with seven siblings where she learned how to make jams. The workshop is part of a summer-long series that is sponsored by a partnership between the University of Minnesota Extension Office and Community Education.

Thanks to Elaine for her lesson on jam and to intern Megan Thompson for teaching on indoor plants. Here's the text of an article in today's Post-Bulletin:

Austin News

Kids have berry good time in class

7/20/2009 7:30:01 AM

Comments (0)

By Sarah Doty
Post-Bulletin, Austin MN

Ethan Johnson's grandma knows how to make jam, and on Thursday, he followed in her footsteps.

Johnson, 7, was just one of many children who participated in a morning workshop during which they learned about indoor gardening and making raspberry jam.

The workshop is part of a summer-long series sponsored by a partnership between the University of Minnesota Extension Office and Community Education.

	Raspberry Jam 4 cups berries 6-1/2 cups sugar 1/2 tsp. butter 1 pouch Certo Measure exact amounts of berries and sugar. Add butter. Mix together. Bring to full rolling boil on the stove. Stir in Certo (pectin). Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off foam. Fill jars and seal.

"It's fun," said Johnson about making jam.

The children took turns adding ingredients and stirring. Once the jam was finished, there was a lot of finger-licking and even some big plans for the newly made condiment.

"I am going to save it 'til home and make a peanut butter and jam sandwich," Johnson said.

Plant cuttings

The other project of the day was to learn about cuttings.

Geraniums and ivy were cut apart in hopes that the stems would grow roots to reproduce.

Alexis Longoria, 14, was enjoying cutting apart the plants and planting them in a small pot.

"I like plants," she said, "and it's fun playing with dirt."

She was there with her younger sister, Alicia, 5, and hopes to do something with plants when she grows up.

Master gardener Pam Schmit was volunteering and helping the children with their projects. She enjoys sharing her passion with the kids.

"It's nice to get them out, and it's something they can do all their life," she said.

Along with making jam and learning about cuttings, the children also have painted pavers, learned about ladybugs and planted and weeded the 4-H garden at the Mower County Fairgrounds. They are planning on building birdhouses and learning about landscaping before summer is over.

Johnson is excited about what is yet to come, saying the reason he comes is, "It's fun."

Web links

• Mower County Junior Gardeners

Garden Photostream

Visit our new Flickr group, Mower Junior Gardeners, at http://www.flickr.com/groups/mowerjuniorgardeners/.



Thanks to our volunteer K Crain and every other talented photographer.

Pumpkin Pie in a Bag

Did you know the first pumpkins were grown in Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and Columbia? Pumpkins spread to what is now the northeastern U.S.A., where Native Americans ate pumpkin seeds and wove dried pumpkin into mats. When English colonists saw the strange new vegetable, they named it after a large melon, the French "pompon," and invented pumpkin pie inside the pumpkin shell. They filled it with milk, spices, and honey. At the garden on Thursday, Junior Gardeners made a modern version: pumpkin pie in a bag.