Eaton’s Creek Greenhouse Adventure

As the winter months and lack of sunlight slow the pace of the growers of our region, our new agricultural programs are just beginning. On December 23rd, our agricultural training class, attended by over twenty refugees from Burma, traveled to a local farm in Joelton, TN to learn about greenhouses and starting seeds.

As we were driving on our journey to Eaton’s Creek Organics, several of the students mentioned how the farmlands that we drove past looked similar to their villages in Burma.

All of the students attending our agricultural training class have grown fruits and vegetables before moving to the United States. Our classes are structured to build on students’ skills and knowledge and introduce them to growing practices in Middle Tennessee.

Our farm teachers, Tana Comer and Julia Thompson-Reynolds educated students on the basics of starting seeds in a greenhouse. Most of the students had not used a greenhouse in their farming practices before, and for some of our students this was the first time that they started seeds in trays, not directly in the ground.

After learning about making potting soil and taking care of seedlings, students started beets, swiss chard and lettuce. Eaton’s Creek was kind enough to send home lettuce starts with all the students!