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Fort Peck Reservation

Expanding the Tribal Extension Garden

Published: 2019
By Wendy Becker
Expanding the Tribal Extension Garden The Fort Peck Reservation Extension Office developed an educational program based on rural agri-tourism, working with cultural educational customs, and horticulture practices of Northeastern Montana. In the past few years, the Tribal Extension Garden has been successful with raising awareness on gardening issues, a pumpkin patch, a community garden, and now has expanded to container gardening and post-harvest possibilities. Working with garden enthusiasts, the Community Services Department, and youth groups, participants learned how to grow a garden without having space. Space can be unavailable for residents, soil may be contaminated, or pest pressures force individuals not to be able to enjoy fresh produce from a garden. This program used hands-on methods to teach participants how to build their own box, barrel, container, or other structure to be able to grow a garden. They learned how to pair certain vegetables together in a small space, and also that different varieties work better in certain areas. At the end of the gardening season, there was a post-harvest get together to learn how to preserve garden produce, compare notes on the gardens they raised, and think about next season. More than 250 people benefited from the activities provided through the program in the last year. Participants indicated that the information obtained was invaluable for feeding their families, conserving water, sharing ideas, networking with other horticulturists, and sparking interest in other horticulture aspects.