On September 27, more than 50 Chiminising participants enjoyed an educational evening about gardening and harvesting vegetables from self-sustained elevated gardens.
Laughter filled the room when avid wild mushroom harvester David Morneau presented on a variety of mushrooms located around the Mille Lacs area.
Melanie Garbow and Michele Wanless, who have been organizing the garden club since this summer, prepared a hearty meal of potato and wild rice soup. All of the vegetables from the soup were prepared from garden to table and harvested from gardens nearby.
Gigitigemin Anishinaabewiyang (We all plant vegetables) is sponsored by the Tobacco-Free Communities Grant Program and will continue to provide classes and educational informa- tion about organic gardening, canning, and harvesting throughout the year.
A community readiness assessment was distributed among participants to determine interest in gardening. The questionnaire also gathered requests to gauge what gardeners would like to grow in their boxes next year. Those who filled out a garden assessment received a complete garden tool kit for their gardens.
Seeding for all gardens will begin in the spring of 2019.