Noyo Food Forest

Grow The Good Garden at Fort Bragg Middle School

The Grow The Good Garden at Fort Bragg Middle School was built in the fall of 2008. Susan Lightfoot, then Program Director for Noyo Food Forest, applied on the school district’s behalf and received a generous $30,000 donation from The Campbell Group. Further gifts from many local businesses and the labor of community members made the dream of having a garden at the Middle School come true.

Currently we grow the following in the hoop house: tomatoes, carrots, cilantro, lettuce, fava beans, starts for the garden and the plant sale. In our outside planter boxes we grow fava beans as a cover crop and beans, Swiss chard, radishes, sunchokes, garlic, peas, kale, raspberries, loganberries, and herbs such as mint, oregano, rosemary, and thyme.

Recognizing the physical activity aspect of gardening, volunteers from PE and ELD classes start seeds, transplant, weed, build compost piles, and make potting soil mixes. Our 6th grade social studies students work with local Master Gardeners to learn about ancient farming methods.

The produce grown at Grow The Good Garden is used for taste tests during lunch, garden time and nutrition education lessons, sold to the Middle School cafeteria and Senior Center, and donated to the Food Bank and Senior Center.

We are hoping to offer garden enhanced nutrition education classes for students in the future. Community members interested in volunteering are urged to contact Garden Coordinator and Nutrition Educator Petra Schulte at 961-3693 or pschulte@fbusd.us .