The Marvel of Mabel's Garden
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Television Production
Minor
Journalism & Agriculture
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Dr. Alyx Shultz
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
“Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming? And always, the answer is: Love. They must do it for love.”
Those beautiful words and wonderful concept stick to my mind when I think of how I am personally rooted in Agriculture. Growing up on a first-generation family farm in the rolling hills of a small-town in Tennessee, I’ve always been aware of the hard work, dedication, and patience a person has to have in this type of industry. Because of that, I decided to take my own passion for agriculture a step further and actively pursue something bigger than just “going to class.”
I was first approached about Mabel’s garden last semester in a previous Ag class. I could tell how passionate my professor was about the proposal by the way she marketed it to her students, talked about it in class, but overall just the excitement she had for starting something new within the Hutson School of Agriculture. Obviously, the excitement reeled me in, and off into the planning process we went to make a dream come to life.
From the get-go, the Mabel’s Garden process took lots of planning, coordinating, and decision-making. After Dr. Shultz took lead and found the home of the garden out at the Pullen Farm, the students then took the reins, researched, and contemplated what they would like to grow in each plot. From there, off we went into the rich hands-on environment of learning! Starting in January as soon as the initial start of the semester, class was outside. Together, we measured plots, drove stakes, hauled compost, planted our own personal seed, but most importantly, laughed, caught-up, and enjoyed the experience with one another.
In my personal plot, I wanted something that could be both beneficial to me in my research, as well as help the growth of the other students’ plots. Therefore, I decided to grow wonderful, bountiful pollinator-friendly plants to help bring in the bees in order to help pollinate and assist in all the other plots. After many minutes on the internet, researching what flowers would be best, I finally found the perfect bundle of seeds to plant.
Park Seed had numerous seeds to choose from. Whether a person would like to grow food, flowers, perennials, trees, etc. The choice is theirs! When researching I decided to order seeds such as: Bee Buddies Wildflower mix, Agastache Arizona Sun, Asclepias Hello Yellow, Salvia Vista Red, and Zinnia Elegans Queen Red Lime. I chose these because of their reviews, planning instructions, post-frost-date abilities, and of course, their attractiveness which will help Mabel’s Garden to become full of color and life.
All in all, the research is still in-progress, time is still being spent tending to each plot, and learning will continue to take place as the marvelous Mabel’s Garden continues to grow.
Spring Scholars Week 2019 Event
Other
The Marvel of Mabel's Garden
“Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming? And always, the answer is: Love. They must do it for love.”
Those beautiful words and wonderful concept stick to my mind when I think of how I am personally rooted in Agriculture. Growing up on a first-generation family farm in the rolling hills of a small-town in Tennessee, I’ve always been aware of the hard work, dedication, and patience a person has to have in this type of industry. Because of that, I decided to take my own passion for agriculture a step further and actively pursue something bigger than just “going to class.”
I was first approached about Mabel’s garden last semester in a previous Ag class. I could tell how passionate my professor was about the proposal by the way she marketed it to her students, talked about it in class, but overall just the excitement she had for starting something new within the Hutson School of Agriculture. Obviously, the excitement reeled me in, and off into the planning process we went to make a dream come to life.
From the get-go, the Mabel’s Garden process took lots of planning, coordinating, and decision-making. After Dr. Shultz took lead and found the home of the garden out at the Pullen Farm, the students then took the reins, researched, and contemplated what they would like to grow in each plot. From there, off we went into the rich hands-on environment of learning! Starting in January as soon as the initial start of the semester, class was outside. Together, we measured plots, drove stakes, hauled compost, planted our own personal seed, but most importantly, laughed, caught-up, and enjoyed the experience with one another.
In my personal plot, I wanted something that could be both beneficial to me in my research, as well as help the growth of the other students’ plots. Therefore, I decided to grow wonderful, bountiful pollinator-friendly plants to help bring in the bees in order to help pollinate and assist in all the other plots. After many minutes on the internet, researching what flowers would be best, I finally found the perfect bundle of seeds to plant.
Park Seed had numerous seeds to choose from. Whether a person would like to grow food, flowers, perennials, trees, etc. The choice is theirs! When researching I decided to order seeds such as: Bee Buddies Wildflower mix, Agastache Arizona Sun, Asclepias Hello Yellow, Salvia Vista Red, and Zinnia Elegans Queen Red Lime. I chose these because of their reviews, planning instructions, post-frost-date abilities, and of course, their attractiveness which will help Mabel’s Garden to become full of color and life.
All in all, the research is still in-progress, time is still being spent tending to each plot, and learning will continue to take place as the marvelous Mabel’s Garden continues to grow.