Recently the Fresno State nursery department hosted a class in order to teach fall gardening tips and raise awareness for its vegetable delivery program. Another class will be held late October through the Wellness at Work Program.

Lynn R. Traber, administrative support coordinator, taught the fall gardening class held at the nursery courtyard. Traber said that 54 people signed up for the one-hour class and about 46 actually showed up.

Traber taught how to prepare a fall garden and which vegetable and herbs to grow during fall season. She also educated attendees on fall bugs and how to get rid of them.­ At the end they had tasty winter recipes ready to hand out.

Traber normally teaches classes for the Wellness at Work Program at Fresno State. This time she taught this class in collaboration with Calliope Correia, a nursery technician, in order to help raise awareness for the nursery and its vegetable delivery program.

Hermalinda Penman, a Fresno State staff member, attended the fall gardening class Thursday. Penman signed up for the class through the bulletin board online and learned some new information.

Penman stated that she had no idea about the vegetable delivery program until Thursday.

“I think I’ll do that instead of growing my own,” Penman said. “And it benefits the school too.”

“There are a lot of people on campus that don’t even know we have a nursery out here or a farm store,” Correia said. The vegetable delivery program began last semester and was a great success but many people are still unaware of the program.

“All our plants are grown at the Nursery,” Correia said.

The vegetable delivery program offers students and staff a convenient way of buying their vegetable and herb plants for their gardens or gifts.

The way the program works is Correia sends out a list of available vegetable plants every week through her e-mail list. People order what they want and the vegetables are delivered anywhere on campus every Friday.

“It’s been very successful,” Correia said. “We’ve delivered a lot of plants.”

The vegetable delivery program starts up again for the fall semester this week. There will be vegetable plants as well as herbs.

“Gardening isn’t just a spring thing,” Correia said. “A lot of people are just finding out about the program.”

The gardening class was held to help teach people basics of home gardening and the versatility of the plants.

“It’s the whole buy local thing,” Correia said. “You’re not getting plants shipped in from the coast.”

Correia stated that buying from the campus nursery is not like buying plants from a store. Through the nursery, people can ask questions and knowledgeable advice is always given. She stated that the best thing about buying plants through the nursery is that it benefits the school as well.

Traber stated that in late October she will be holding another class, this time for the Wellness at Work Program. She will incorporate various tips on herb usage and possibly how to make loofah soaps.

Correia has plans for future classes as well to be held at the nursery. She would like for more people to know that the nursery exists and for others to be able to gain knowledge from the department.