Check out the How to Grow a Salsa Garden video resource created by Extension Master Gardener interns in collaboration with 4-H!
Basic gardening provides an exciting opportunity for young people to develop curiosity about and appreciation for gardening and the natural world. In Arlington and Alexandria, 4-H and Extension Master Gardeners (EMGs) collaborate to do this through the 4-H Junior Master Gardener program (JMG).
4-H is the largest youth development program in the United States. Like EMGs, 4-H operates under the auspices of the Cooperative Extension Service (CES), created in the United States Department of Agriculture by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 as a way for state land-grant universities to distribute research-based agricultural knowledge and expertise to the public. Currently, CES collaborates with more than 100 land-grant universities and more than 3,000 county offices across the United States.
Founded in 1902 by A. B. Graham in Clark County, Ohio, the 4-H program focused on young people, who were viewed as more open to new ideas than adults in farming communities. The first clubs were called “The Tomato Club” or the “Corn Growing Club.” By 1910, Jesse Field Shambaugh had developed the clover pin with an H on each leaf, and by 1912 the clubs were called 4-H.
While agricultural best practices are still components of 4-H in rural areas, in Arlington and Alexandria 4-H provides young people the opportunity to acquire leadership, citizenship, and life skills through a variety of programming. One of these programs is JMG.
4‑H Pledge
I pledge my head to clearer thinking,
My heart to greater loyalty,
My hands to larger service,
and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.
Promesa 4‑H
Prometo usar mi mente para pensar con más claridad,
Mi corazón para ser más leal,
Mis manos para ser más servicial,
Mi salud para cuidarme más,
por mi club, mi comunidad, mi país, y mi mundo.
JMG pairs teams of EMGs with students in Alexandria and Arlington public schools. EMGs work with on-site school staff. Programs are offered after school (grades 1–5) in the spring and fall, and topics vary by site. For example, students may learn how to plant and maintain a vegetable garden, understand the importance of fresh, local foods by eating what they grow, and how to interact with visitors to their gardens. Other topics include pollinators, composting, soils, water, insects, and vermiculture. Additional information is available at JMG Curriculum and JMG Program Overview.
Whether learning about animal habitat while making gourd birdhouses or developing communication skills by debating two sides of an environmental issue, JMG is about learning by doing, and having fun along the way.