done soon. “ None of the kids have been in a field,” Lamas said. “ And they’ve never picked pests either.” The kids don’t want to kill them, he says, but “sometimes you have to draw the line.” Last year they produced 300 cabbages. Lamas didn’t take any home. He wants the kids to do that, to experience them themselves. He tells them “You’ll never experience a tomato until you eat one from the vine!”
The kids are always amazed at how fast the plants grow, he said. When they express an interest in the gardening project, Lamas starts by asking them what they know, what they want to learn – questions like “ what interests you about plants?” He tells them he can show them how to raise a few standard crops and a few others. He’ll tell them what’s practical for this area and what’s not. Then they can try anything they’re interested in. And the kids respond. One time the kids asked about growing jicama. Lamas’ brother told him it grows well here but it needs a long growing season. No problem for the Valley. Lamas says he plays around with different vegetables. He’s grown turnips, something many of the kids had never seen, and carrots, which they all love. He tells his students what they’re going to plant and how soon the seedlings should appear, weather depending. He”ll make the holes, then adds compost and MiracleGro. Then he covers them up and plants the seeds on top. One kid adds compost, another adds
fertilizer, etc.
Lamas tells them: “ there’s not a lot of variety out there (in stores) but there’s a HUGE variety that they themselves can grow as a gardener. But they have to have an interest in it.”
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“They get to see how things grow,” he said, and he explains how it works.
Lamas plants more vegetables than he needs. He makes them available to the kids and encourages them to have their own planting block. Talking about the disconnect, Lamas said a few years ago he discovered some of the kids had never seen strawberries. So he raised some and the kids did also.
He’s since introduced them to vegetables like leeks, beets and kohlrabi. “We’re losing so much diversity,” he said.
“If you go back 50 years, there were over 100 varieties of apples,” he said. Now in stores, there are six or seven. And potatoes? You have go to South America (Peru, Bolivia) where you’ll find thirty different varieties and colors. “Even with citrus, we have so much variety but we don’t get to see that,” he said. “Most of the kids (say) the only time they see veggies is when they see them on the side of the road (at vegetable stands),” said Lamas. “And the only time they see broccoli is when they see it in the store.”
Lamas encourages the kids to keep track of what they grow and how it does. He’s done this himself for years. Lamas strives to pass his life-long fascination and passion for plants and growing things along to his students. He plans to harvest some of the tomatoes and onions they’re growing and create a delicious salsa for the kids.
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“There’s a world of difference between a tomato you buy at HEB, especially in the winter time,” said Lamas “It’s completely different.”
There’s not a lot of variety out there (in stores) but there’s a HUGE variety that they themselves can grow as a gardener. But they have to have an interest in it. In April, they’ll make a soup with some of the cabbage and tomatoes. It will give them a sense of the full cycle and open up their perspective of where the food they eat really comes from. A freelance journalist and professional blogger, Debra Atlas is reachable through www.Envirothink.wordpress.com or debraatlas@gmail.com
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2017
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