June 21, 2026
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It was a beautiful Saturday morning, May 30 at the Bruce Botanical Food Gardens in Ripley, as 25 "For Our Youth" club members gathered to learn about horticulture! They were especially excited because they were planning their own garden patch for the year.
Leader Rhonda Curran took attendance and each member talked about his/her favourite food to grow. A wooden sign for the 2026 garden season was passed around so members could add their signatures. The sign will be hung at the club's garden plot for everyone to admire.
The club split up to tackle the day’s activities: Group 1 stayed in the hoop house to learn about toads and make toad houses, with leaders Brad Dewys and Cheryl Scott. Group 2 went to the garden to prepare and start planting, with leader Rhonda and junior leader Joslynn Curran.
The children learned how to plant seedlings and seeds, which have important steps to follow for successful growth. They also learned how to identify eyes on a potato and how to properly plant a potato. They planted more strawberry plants this year thanks to leader Bonnie Ernst’s donation from her own garden.
Lots of different types of tomatoes went into the garden, including some types they have never heard of; they are excited to see what they look (and taste) like! The varieties were Yellow Currant Cherry, Blue Bumblebee, Earle of Edgecomb, Melody, Yellow Pear, Marvel, Roma and Beefsteak, to name a few.
The kids planted Scarlet Runner beans under the arbour, so hopefully, they grow up tall, making the arbour full of green leaves, beans and pretty red flowers. At the back of the garden, the kids planted mammoth sunflower seeds in a row - hoping they get taller than all of the club members! The children are hoping they will be six-seven feet tall, so we will have to wait and see. Time will tell!
Herbs, carrots, corn, watermelon, marigolds and bush beans were among some of the other things that made it into the garden. After the planting was done, the members added garden marker stakes with plant name labels on them and the garden was thoroughly watered.
Everyone seemed to enjoy decorating toad houses, and leader Brad shared some toad facts with the club. He talked about the taxonomic grouping of frogs and toads, explained what makes an amphibian - a fact that a lot of the kids already knew. The kids also discussed why they might want to attract toads to their gardens (to eat insects, of course), as well as the fact that toads are nocturnal. They all learned there are only two species of toads in Ontario: the American toad and the Fowler’s toad. All the kids were so creative and the toad houses turned out great!
Club members also received a new Star Gardener card, which they will mark every time they visit the garden this summer and throughout the growing season. Who can get the most visits? Who will pick the most weeds? Who will find the first delicious thing growing in the garden? There are prizes for the member with the most hole punches on the Star Gardener card, so let the visiting begin!
The club enjoyed healthy snacks made by leader Cheryl, and a successful meeting in May was completed.
The kids are keeping their fingers crossed for a good growing season like they experienced with last year’s garden. At least they won’t have to deal with baseball bat-sized zucchini this year.
Special thanks to former leader Melody Smilie, leader Bonnie, and Olivia at the food gardens for donating so many wonderful seedlings; Pat Fox for donating this year’s garden marker stakes; leader Brad for making toad houses, and leader Kim for doing a lot of organization behind the scenes.
The next meeting is at the Pine River Watershed Initiative Network (PRWIN)'s McLarty Education Centre where the club will be hunting for frogs and going on a nature hike. See you there!
Written ByRhonda Curran is one of the leaders of the Ripley and District Horticultural Society's "For Our Youth" Club.
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