Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

WORLAND - Every other Wednesday was, Work-It-Wednesday, this summer with West Side students gather to harvest produce from the school garden established just prior to the end of the school year in May.

Andrea Cooley, West Side teacher and project coordinator said she has had a different group of students gather nearly every week. They have planted tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, pumpkins, strawberries, lettuce, peas, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, pickling and cutting cucumbers, radishes, banana peppers and butternut squash.

You will also find some wildflowers inside the garden and Cooley said the students have been learning what flowers are best for gardens as they attract different pollinators and discourage certain pests from coming to the garden.

They also have blueberries, raspberries and honeysuckle and have started a small compost pile that students have been tending to this summer as well.

They have donated produce to families and to the organizations who helped make the garden a reality, including Washakie County Extension and Washakie County Conservation District.

People can check the Facebook page for updates on the garden and for when extra produce is available for the taking.

Cooley said she would like to expand the garden if possible, but they will be expanding learning applications with two FarmBots they have purchased for the garden.

According to the website, "All FarmBots come equipped with an onboard camera and computer vision software to measure the soil height of your entire garden bed using stereoscopic image processing techniques. With an accurate mapping of your bed's soil height, FarmBot can more precisely sow seeds, measure the soil's moisture content, and abate weeds."

FarmBot sows seeds in any pattern the grower wishes using the FarmBot app. It also waters each plant based on its size, type, age and soil condition.