The Battle Lake School District owns a 10-acre field behind the school which had been rented to a local farmer for the last several years. With increasing interest in school gardens and after talking with several local resources and instructors who have school gardens a plan was developed to use the 10-acre field for multiple purposes. Approximately one-third of the land was planted in seed corn which when harvested by a local farmer, is sold to raise funds to support the garden project. They worked with the local co-op to create two test plots of corn. To support the city’s annual Pumpkin Fest a pumpkin patch was incorporated into the garden along with a few plots of sweet corn. Since Battle Lake attracts many tourists in the summer locals and visitors were targeted for marketing the produce. Besides pumpkins and sweet corn, there is a plot for beans, peas, tomatoes, and other vegetables on a smaller scale to determine how it all works before proceeding to a larger scale. A sizeable slope on the property was planted with different types of grasses and used as a “classroom” to study erosion control practices. The 10-acre plot of land is accessible to students and maintained by the FFA (Future Farmers of America). The project benefits students, the FFA chapter, and the entire community.

For more information contact: Jeff Drake (jdrake@isd542.org)