The 2020 Grafton County 4-H Gardening Program is a FREE, six-month long project which kicks-off with the Garden Party and culminates with the Family Fall Festival.
During the program, youth plant their container or conventional gardens, tend to weeds, check for insects and diseases, photograph or sketch their garden’s progress, and set goals for how they plan to use their garden’s produce to participate in the local fair, donate to charities, or experiment with a new recipe, etc. 4-H members have the option of recording their summer’s project in their Gardening Booklet.
Seeds for the program are donated, and youth may supplement these with optional purchased plants or seeds. In addition to regular flower, herb, and vegetable seeds, sponsors also donate giant sunflower, giant pumpkin, and pickling cucumber seeds for contest-specific events; prizes for which are awarded at the Fall Festival.
Youth can sign up for the Gardening Program at any time via 4hOnline.com or by contacting the Extension Office (787-6944).
How do youth participate in the Garden Program?
1. Read the Gardening Program Information Packet carefully.
2. Register for the Garden Program via 4hOnline.com or by contacting the office.
3. Plant the seeds.
4. Write thank you notes to all our sponsors during the month of June.
5. Enter something from the garden in the North Haverhill Fair (entries are due June 15).
6. Harvest cucumbers from the garden and make pickles as part of the Pickle Challenge.
7. Complete the optional Grafton County 4-H Gardening Booklet and submit it to the office prior to the September 16 deadline. (Youth choosing to submit their completed booklets to the Extension office prior to the deadline will be included in a special prize drawing.)
8. Participate in the Giant Pumpkin Contest and/or the Giant Sunflower Contest in the fall. (Contest details are available in the Gardening Program Information Packet. See the link below.)
Additional details:
- Gardening Program Information Packet (includes the Pickle Challenge recipe)
- Gardening Booklet
