April showers bring May flowers.

For Hershey High School’s Garden Club, they hope instead that April showers bring more vegetables. On April 20, 2017, Hershey High School’s Garden Club planted their first crops. About fifteen students met up at 4:30 to start the season off. Each Thursday, this club meets in Natalie White’s classroom to plan their garden. As of now, they don’t have a set gardening day.

HHS Senior, Lindsay Abel, helped harvest over 400 pounds of produce in the fall. While this was a huge success for the club considering it was their first year, they hope to plant even more this year. With the weather not warm enough, the Garden Club could only start planting their cold weather plants: broccoli, lettuce, spinach, cabbage, peas, cauliflower, beets, and brussel sprouts.

They still plans to donate their food to Gemma’s Angels and Cocoa Packs, but Abel is hoping they branch out more this year.

“The cause is really good,” Abel said. Their club allows families to get fresh produce that couldn’t otherwise buy it.

Additionally, Abel, as well as other club members, agree the club is a lot of fun.

“[Garden Club] is unlike any other club in school,” Abel said.

Students don’t sit in a classroom discussing like other clubs, but instead they get outside and plant. Members plan on setting times they are responsible for the garden during the summer. Last year, Abel said it was mostly Daniel Ioffreda’s family caring for the garden over the summer. Ioffreda was a senior last year, and Garden Club was his original idea. His father still attends meetings, brings plans on how to plant, and assists the club.

Another way Garden Club is different is that it requires a community effort from the school. Currently, Jeff Mackneer’s class has offered to assist the club in building a sturdier shed. During the winter this year, Garden Club’s shed was knocked down. However, it suffered no damages, and they were able to put it back together.

As of now, the club plans on meeting in a week or two to weed and care for their cold weather produce. By Mother’s Day, they hope to start planting the warm weather harvest and by late spring, they hope to be harvesting all the food they planted together.

“We’re more active in the summer and fall,” Abel said. That’s when they start to harvest.

Despite this, Abel said they’re always looking for new members. It can be a challenge to maintain the garden, and it helps to have the extra hands.

Overall, Garden Club’s first day planting was a success. They already have four beds filled with food to be donated in the fall, and unlike last year, they hope to produce even more food and donate it to organizations so families can have fresh produce. The club planted smarter this year. They kept plants closer, and it seems that their goal of more food will be met.