Staff writer
Two Marion High School students and an instructor sowed the first “seeds of progress” in the FFA Community Garden on Friday marking a milestone in the project.
FFA students Kaitlyn Goebel and Aidan Cairns, accompanied by FFA supervisor Mark Meyer, planted about 160 Red Russet and Yukon Gold variety potatoes.
Despite one student’s battle with seasonal allergies, Meyer said the process went swiftly once they got the rows marked out.
Goebel also helped write a grant for garden equipment including a tiller that will be used in tandem with USD 408’s tractor to keep weeds down and work soil, he said.
The grant is from Frontier Farm Credit.
Prior to planting, area farmer Alan Hett helped to work the garden three different times.
“He provided equipment and time to help make the soil suitable for planting,” Meyer said.
FFA members will continue to work the garden this week by sifting through a mound of compost donated to the project from Hillsboro entities.
“We have sampled the soil and sent it off to be tested to determine what the nutrient levels are at the garden site,” Meyer said.
An area at the south end of the garden will be corn. Other areas will go to various kinds of produce, but the whole garden is not yet spoken for, Meyer said.
A vertical storage tank will be placed under the water tower to catch water from the tank when it is flushed. Once in place, a water line will be installed to transport water to the garden area.