Everett Community College Veggie Garden Supported by Strong Community – Staff, Students and Cedar Grove Composting

Cedar Grove recently supported Everett Community College through a compost donation as the school’s Nutrition 180 “Sustainable Food Systems” class built and installed raised beds for a veggie garden at the center of campus.

On March 31, the first planting took place, followed by plantings in April and May.  In May, the students indulged in radish sandwiches, followed by radish and pea pod salad during the class’s weekly cooking sessions.  The students then harvested spinach and made spinach and cheese calzones with their loot.

Image by Cedar Grove Composting via Flickr

Other veggies the class planted include red and green cabbage, zucchini, leeks, beets, parsnips, peas, pole beans, pumpkins, kale, red and yellow onions, cucumbers, lettuce and more!

Later this month, the students will have their end-of-quarter potluck and will celebrate by harvesting lettuce from their garden to make a salad.  Over the summer, the garden will be cared for by current students and John Syson, the college’s head groundskeeper and his crew.  Food harvested from the garden over the summer months will be donated to the Everett Food Bank and the Everett Women’s Shelter.  Laura Wild, nutrition instructor, says that she is referring to the garden’s summer caretakers as the “Garden Angels”.

The class also recently planted warm weather crops which will be used in the Nutrition 180 class this fall.  In addition to vegetables, the class also planted flowers to attract beneficial insects including marigolds, zinnias and sweet alyssum.

Cedar Grove is committed to supporting the local community and has a passion for helping schools and non-profits in the areas in which we live, work and play!  Kudos to Everett Community College for tackling this project and thank you for allowing Cedar Grove to be a part of it!