Saugus students participate in monthly gardening class at library

SAUGUS – The Saugus Garden Club?s “Plant-Tastic!” gardening class was back at the Saugus Library Tuesday as kids had a crash course on how to grow herbs.?It?s just rooting and learning how to pot something, and how to get ready for winter and have things winter over,” said Garden Club President Nancy Sayles. “It?s our future. We all got a start somewhere from somebody who had a garden and enjoyed something with us. I just love this. The simplest things they maybe have never done like taking a plant out of a pot, but they?re learning.”Sayles led the class and had small pots of sage, cilantro, and even lettuce and carrots to pass around.?If you want to try a piece you may,” Sayles told the kids. “Otherwise I?m going to have it for dinner tonight.”And with winter fast-approaching, the class got a hands-on lesson in how to plant indoors.?Do you think these plants would want to stay outside all winter long?” asked Bethany Templeton Klem, the head of the children?s department.?No!” the kids all answered in unison.Sayles then took out a red plastic flower box filled with rocks and placed it on the table, then passed around a big bag of potting soil and a cup so each child could take turns filling it with dirt.The kids then took turns digging small holes in the dirt to plant the sage and stems of a coleus plant Sayles had growing in water.Brennan Donahue, 8, came late to the class, saying his mom said he could only stay a few minutes. But like the rest of the kids in the class, parents just couldn?t pull their children away once they started planting.?I think it was pretty good,” said Donahue, who once tried growing a Venus fly trap. “I learned how the plants get the vitamins and minerals, and what they need to survive and everything. Plants are what give us air and dirt would be flying around everywhere if the roots didn?t keep it in place.”Sayles also had a strawberry plant that kids planted at a previous class, and once that along with the roots of the sage and coleus plants take hold, she said kids will be able to take them home to care for them themselves.?Next month these will be better established, and we?ll take them out and bring them home if they want,” said Sayles. “We?re going to try to keep a perpetual garden going.”The “Plant-Tastic!” class is held once a month and goes through all different aspects of gardening. Previous classes had kids learning about hydroponic planting, which is where plants are grown only in water. Next month, Sayles said she plans to use seeds to make some arts and crafts projects.?We?ll concentrate on gathering all sorts of things that have gone to seed so we can use the natural environment and not just popcorn seeds,” said Sayles.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].