Heat doesn't discourage Waukegan family gardeners

Posted July 23, 2012 6:00 am

Waukegan Public Library

Kimberly Garcia thins Mexican radishes during the July 3 meeting of the Waukegan Public Library's Digging in the Dirt Family Gardening Club. Courtesy of Waukegan Public Library

The recent high temperatures did little to discourage members of the Waukegan Public Library's Digging in the Dirt Family Gardening Club. On July 3, the group gathered for its weekly meeting in the library's organic garden adjacent to Clayton Street. The session offered a lively lesson for the young gardeners, who learned how and why to add worms to their garden soil.

“Worms are the organic gardener's best friend,” children's librarian Sandy Sherwood said. “They do the job of chemical fertilizers without the harmful chemicals.” Miss Sandy, as she's known to all the children, has helped raise readers at the Waukegan Public Library for nearly 43 years, and has been raising plants in her own organic garden for even longer.

The library launched Digging in the Dirt in 2009 to show families how to grow their own vegetables, fruits and herbs in an urban setting. Club members meet at the library or take field trips to neighboring gardens, including the Madeline Fuqua Memorial Community Garden in Waukegan and the Green Youth Farm in North Chicago.

The program teaches all aspects of gardening, from planting seeds to harvesting the yield. At the end of each session, families take home any crops they've picked and Sherwood offers recipes and tips on nutrition. Membership in the club fills up quickly each year, and the library hopes to expand both its garden and the gardening program in the future.

To learn more, call Sherwood at (847) 623-2041, ext. 282, or visit www.waukeganpl.org.

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Takara Walton prepares the soil in the Waukegan Public Librarys organic garden Courtesy of Waukegan Public Library

The Waukegan Public Librarys 2012 Digging in the Dirt Family Gardening Club. Courtesy of Waukegan Public Library

Phoebe Jones perches on a steppingstone created by the Digging in the Dirt Family Gardening Club. Courtesy of Waukegan Public Library

Childrens librarian Sandy Sherwood, known as Miss Sandy, and the children admire their herbs. Courtesy of Waukegan Public Library

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