First year Lake County Juvenile Court Judge Karen Lawson has a desire to teach life skills to the young people who pass through the Lake County Juvenile Detention facility.  Noticing the sun in a grassy area outside the dentention center basketball court, she made it known that she wanted to put a vegetable garden in its place.   The Lake County Master Gardener program set out to assist.  The Detention Center is literally next door to the Lake County Extension office which lead to a perfect partenership. 

First year Lake County Juvenile Court Judge Karen Lawson has a desire to teach life skills to the young people who pass through the Lake County Juvenile Detention facility.  Noticing the sun in a grassy area outside the dentention center basketball court, she made it known that she wanted to put a vegetable garden in its place.   The Lake County Master Gardener program set out to assist.  The Detention Center is literally next door to the Lake County Extension office which lead to a perfect partenership. 

As a pilot program that started in March 2009 the participation was limited to a crew of 2 Extension staff and  4 Master Gardeners.  After several planning meetings classes began with the youth covering basic vegetable gardening, soil testing, composting and reading seed packets. 

In May the site was prepared.  Master Gardeners supervised juveniles who planted seeds and transplants in a garden approximately 75 feet by 6 feet.  Viewing the garden from their indoor classroom and on daily breaks gave participants a first hand look at the development of the vegetables they had planted. 

Mulch was applied and thinning and weeding sessions along with cooperative weather hastened the emerging vegetables.   An abundance of carrots, radishes, beets, tomatoes, peppers, beans, yellow squash, zuchinni, cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage and herbs thrived, providing a sense of accomplishment for kids who were seeing the fruits of their labor. 

Twenty nine sessions provided time for the Master Gardeners to share skills and encourage the kids who enthusiastically looked forward to our visits.  Juveniles who were released asked for and received seed packets and instructions for gardening at home.  Many expressed a desire to start a garden of their own next summer. 

The harvest was utilized by kitchen staff who along with offenders produced salads and entrees showcasing the vegetables picked earlier in the day.  Master Gardeners used the last of the tomatoes and peppers to produce three types of salsa that were sampled as an afternoon snack at the facility.

The enthusiastic reponse of the court, juveniles and Master Gardeners has led to a plan to expand the garden to double its size for 2010.  We plan to have the residents start seeds indoors in early spring and  a series of classes will be taught prior to the outdoor gardening sessions. 

To learn more about our garden and see a video:

 URL:http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2009/08/30/news/nh1347514.prt