BOTTINEAU, N.D. — Harvest season was upon the Bottineau community and that was no different at the Dakota College Greenhouse. During harvest season, the Greenhouse has various gardens and high tunnels to harvest from. This year their harvest included apples, peppers, carrots, tomatoes, radishes, beets, squash, cantaloupe, green beans, zucchini, garlic, cucumbers, lettuce and kohlrabi. This is common for Dakota College during harvest season. They sell their produce to college staff and faculty, community members and to the campus dining center, Sodexo.
Every year, the Greenhouse hosts an event for children in the community and surrounding areas, Pumpkins in the Park. Mini pumpkins are grown on campus in their own pumpkin patch just southeast of the wash and pack facility. On September 28th, the Pickering Boosters 4H Club, which included twenty students, assisted in harvesting the pumpkins. Karen Anderson, who is the 4H leader stated that “they had a blast and they said they would love to do it again next year.”
According to Lynn Nero, Greenhouse Manager at Dakota College, the students helped harvest around nine hundred mini pumpkins for the event. “I enjoyed the giggles and laughter between all the kids. They were not afraid to have fun and dig in the dirt” states Nero. In the future, the Greenhouse will be reaching back out to the Pickering Boosters 4H Club to assist with other projects!
–Dakota College at Bottineau