Ripley junior horticulturalists learn about maple trees and seed-planting

The April showers held off as the Ripley and District Horticultural Society’s “For Our Youth” Club met at the home of leader Melody King-Smillie in Kincardine on a sunny, but chilly, Saturday.

As members arrived, our intrepid junior leaders got them involved in a tree-themed scavenger hunt around Mel’s spacious yard. The activity was made trickier by the absence of leaves on the trees, but the kids persevered and focused on details, such as branch shapes, bark and whether the tree was coniferous or deciduous. A rousing game of Cross Country Canada afterwards had the group mingling and having a laugh.

In keeping with our 2024 club theme of “Branching Out,” April’s tree is the maple. Melody talked about the different types of maple trees and where they grow. Details about sugar maples were especially interesting, as leaders passed around sap-collecting equipment, including buckets and spiles.

Members learned about First Nations sap collection and maple syrup-making methods, and how First Nations shared this knowledge with settlers. Everyone enjoyed tasting a sample of fresh maple syrup from leader Kim Lowry’s farm.

We then split into two groups. Members of Group One went inside with leader Rhonda Curran to work on their “Branching Out” posters. Starting with a large drawing of a tree, members will create a leaf at each meeting to represent that month’s theme tree and write down one fact that they’ve learned.

By the end of the year, we hope to see posters full of different leaves and lots of tree facts. The kids were full of creative ideas for their tree posters, and included swings, ladders, birds and more in their drawings. Members will keep the posters at home on their walls, and add new leaves after each meeting.

Members of Group Two met with leader Heather Newman to plant a variety of seeds for their home vegetable gardens, as we want to encourage the kids to explore the growing process and all its rewards (and sometimes disappointments). Everyone planted radishes and cherry tomatoes, then each member got to pick seeds of his/her choice. Heather taught us about seedling care, transplanting times and how to leave enough space between plants. We are looking forward to hearing garden updates from the kids.

Wrapping up the poster and planting activities, the group gathered to partake in the Potato Challenge: one potato was planted in a pot with soil, and another was planted into Melody’s garden. Which potato will grow the biggest? Members were very excited to cast a vote for their favourite potato; we will check back in future meetings to see how the plants have progressed. Wonder which potato will win? And how many french fries we will get out of it?

In keeping with the theme of the day, everyone enjoyed a snack of maple cookies. To close the meeting, members had to search Melody’s yard for the club’s frog statue - the lucky member to find it was given the honour of choosing first from the Treasure Box. Everyone went home happy and tired, with seed pots, instructions and posters.

Looking for new plants to add to your indoor and outdoor collection? Mark your calendar for our annual Plant Sale, Saturday, May 18, from 8 a.m. to Noon, at Lewis Park in Ripley, rain or shine, under the gazebo.

Our next club meeting takes place at leader Heather’s farm, Saturday, May 11.