Gardening and Food Preservation Program

The vegetables are chosen based on what participants have liked most, along with input from a master gardener about the space each vegetable plant needs as it grows. A local nursery provides the seedlings, and its staff members also weigh in on best plants for successful gardens. Favorites over the years include tomatoes, beans, broccoli, cabbage, onions, zucchini and yellow squash.

“We’ve eliminated some options such as corn,” Mary explains, “because it needs more space for growing than most of our participants have.”

The program attracts new gardeners as well as those who have been growing food all their lives – including many seniors — and the workshops offer plenty of opportunity for participants to ask questions and share seasoned advice. FiveCap has a rototiller residents can borrow, and for those who don’t live in an area where they can have a garden, planting space is available at each of FiveCap’s county offices.

Armed with growing tips and an armload of plants, the workshop participants adapt their garden plans to suit their food needs and the space they have available to grow vegetables.

One Manistee gardener puts her vegetable seedlings in containers and grows what she affectionately calls her “deck garden.”

“I love it because the deer can’t get to it!” says Carol, who has been attending the workshops for several years. “I joined because I wanted more information on how to deal with problems like bugs or animals eating my plants, without having to use chemicals.” These days, when she sees an unwanted interloper like a tomato worm, she just picks it off.

Carol also loves the interactions with other gardeners and learning from them.

“The people are all so nice and helpful, and they share a lot of ideas about how to grow food creatively and effectively,” she says.

Norma, a resident of Mason County, recalls her mother participating in the gardening program for several years.

“When I retired, I decided to join the program, too,” she says. “It gave me an opportunity to get out and be around other people.”

While Norma loves the idea of growing her food, she admits she doesn’t have a green thumb.

“Plants just don’t grow for me,” she says, chuckling at her years of trying.

Still, Norma continues to attend the workshops. She enjoys the camaraderie and she likes learning about veggies.

“I didn’t realize, for example, that there are cold-loving plants and warm-loving plants,” she explains. “And I learned that even if the ground is wet from a rainstorm, that doesn’t mean there is enough water to get to the roots of the plants. We learned to stick our finger into the soil to be sure the roots are wet.”

When she receives the vegetable seedlings at the first workshop, she delivers them to her sister.

“She is my surrogate gardener!” says Norma. “She has a wonderful garden, and she shares the produce with me.”

As the summer progresses and vegetables are maturing, FiveCap holds a second workshop in each county. They are presented by a food safety educator from the MSU Extension Service, who offers instruction on how to prepare and safely preserve veggies by canning and freezing. Canning jars, lids, and freezer bags in a variety of sizes are available at no charge.

This fall, Carol will be canning tomatoes and using tips she learned from other gardeners such as what she can add to make them more like a sauce. She’ll can tomato juice, too, in quart and pint jars. For Carol, who is 81 and likes to line dance, being involved in the gardening and food preservation program is all part of her choice to live a healthy lifestyle.

“It’s a great experience,” she says. “Fantastic!”

“I’m grateful to everyone who participates in the gardening and food preservation program,” says Mary, “including master gardeners and members of the MSU Extension Service who have been leading the workshops for decades. They are so responsive and their expert knowledge is a big part of the success of this program.”

For more information, contact Mary Trucks at fivecap@fivecap.org.