J Space greenhouses will be blooming this year

The greenhouses will soon house several kinds of fruits, vegetables and herbs. /ARIEL BROTHMAN

J Space has a new and exciting venture in the house – in the greenhouses, that is!

Made possible by grants from United Way’s “race to the top” and RIDE funds, along with donations, training services, and many other forms of generosity, J Space has begun using the greenhouses recently installed in its backyard, outside the fitness center at the Dwares JCC, in Providence.

Shannon Kochanek, J Space’s director of After School and Vacation Camps, along with dozens of children who attend the afterschool program, are in the process of planting seeds that they will harvest over the coming months. Some children chose to plant radishes, which have the shortest growing time. Others were willing to be more patient.

“Some of them picked really pretty flowers [to plant]. They were like, ‘It takes a long time ’til the harvest, but I think it’s gonna be worth it because they’re so pretty!’ ”

Kochanek has coordinated everything related to the children’s involvement in the greenhouses, from construction to training sessions to guiding the children in their gardening plans. She didn’t do it alone, though. 

She said a master gardener from Farm Fresh Rhode Island “gave me a lot of tips on things that I hadn’t budgeted. [For example] he suggested that we get a timer for the switches so that when we’re not here on the weekends the grow lights can turn on and off without someone coming in to turn them on and off.”

It’s taken a lot of planning and hard work, but, like the flowers that are so pretty they will be worth it in the end. Kochanek is steadfast in her belief that the skills the children are learning are worth it.

“I want them to do everything,” she says excitedly as she explains that the children, who are working in pairs or in threes, will be doing everything from picking their seeds and projecting sprout/harvest times to tracking their development for the next several months.

“Some things will take longer than a school year to harvest so they have to decide [what to grow],” she said.

Kochanek also plans to introduce the children to the entrepreneurial side of gardening by giving them a choice of eating their produce, cooking with it, selling it, or whatever else they can think of. She hopes that this experience will not only allow them to see the practical and healthful aspects of growing your own food, but also the economic role it can play in both personal finances and the community.

“Do they want to eat it? Prepare it? Sell it? My hope is that each group will try everything. I really want to introduce that entrepreneurial aspect, and I want them to even … decide how much they will sell it for and then decide what they’re going to do with it [money].”

The money raised from any sales will go back into J Space, with ideas for a tablet or an ice cream party on the table.

Kochanek also plans to further educate herself by attending workshops on gardening, including some at An Evening of Jewish Renaissance: Redesigned in mid-November.

“I’m so excited!” she says, smiling at the mention of the workshops.

And it isn’t just Kochanek and the kids who are excited – the adult community at J Space is enthusiastic about the project as well.

“Some of the members of the [Jewish] Alliance have suggested that the kids’ produce go on sale near the fitness center,” said Kochanek, smiling.

ARIEL BROTHMAN is a freelance writer who lives in Wrentham, Mass. She was the summer intern at The Jewish Voice in 2012.