Student gardeners plow through winter
Published: Sunday, January 3, 2010
By Danielle Sanzone
The Record
TROY — It was likely a little easier than an old-fashioned
barn-raising, but in much more extreme weather, as several Troy High
students and Capital District Community Gardens staff members last
week erected the frame for a new greenhouse on Eighth Street in
below freezing temperatures.
 |
|
Braving the cold, Troy
High School students Luqman Azhari, left, and Tyler
Gantt, rear, work with Mara Estes, center, and Tara
Hotis, right, to erect the frame for a greenhouse on a
garden plot on Eighth Street in Troy. Photo by Tom
Killips — The Record. |
“The metal poles were frozen to the ground,” said Stephen Corrigan,
the produce project’s coordinator. “Ideally, we would have had the
greenhouse up by now but at least it will be a permanent structure
and we will not have to do this in the cold again.”
The greenhouse’s rafters and supports were installed Wednesday and
the plastic insulation was planned to be in within the week.
“This is a windy site. We need to find a good time to put the
plastic in since it’s a single, large sheet,” he said about the 30
foot by 60 foot structure about 12 feet high.
The produce project, which was launched at the end of October, helps
at-risk urban youths learn job skills while also learning about
farming and plants. They utilize garden areas in Albany, a site in
Lansingburgh at Corliss Park, and the 1-acre patch on Eighth Street
which happens to be across the street from where 10th grader Luqman
Azhari lives.
“I’m wearing two pairs of gloves and I’m still cold,” said the Troy
High student and project participant. “This has not been too hard
though, just time consuming. My mom gardens every summer so I could
see myself use this in my life too.”
 |
|
The greenhouse going up on Eighth Street in Troy will be
operated by Troy High School students under the
direction of the Capital District Community Gardens.
Photo by Tom Killips — The Record. |
When finished, the greenhouse will be at a constant 50-degree
temperature. The eight beds of vegetables in the greenhouse’s
footprint, mainly salad greens, turnips and radishes, have been
covered by a fabric to keep them from freezing, said Corrigan.
“The soil under that is actually pretty soft in comparison to the
frozen soil in the rest of the garden,” he said.
Ten
Troy High students mainly work outside in the area gardens but
occasionally have food demonstrations and lessons inside about the
biology of the produce and marketing techniques for farmers. The
students, who get to take home some of the vegetables and a stipend,
work about 10 hours per week on the project, which is covered by
grant funding.
The food they grow is sold to places like Jose Malone’s in Troy and
the Executive Mansion in Albany.
Danielle Sanzone may be reached at 270-1292 or by email at
dsanzone@troyrecord.com.
|
