Hands 4 Growing

08/07/2025

07/09/2025

Our Hands for Growing youth met this morning to learn about the importance of flexibility in their relationships. They worked on their gnome gardens (minus the gnomes, the gnomes are on their way to Sidney), used their skills in a challenge to negotiate for their team, and explored their garden’s growth this week. Next week we will be working on Technology and Social Media. This summer we have partnered with Linda Jeffers from the Extension Office in Sidney. We hope you will be able to view some of these gardens in person at the Cheyenne County Fair in two weeks.

05/29/2024

Hands for Growing started today! It was breezy but warm and we got a ton of stuff planted and moved, found a dead snake (!!!), and worked on folders, which is always a favorite creative activity. This was a day for introductions to each other and the garden. We are grateful to our teen team members who return to share their experiences and leadership. This year we have 14 participants registered and 4 teen team members. It's going to be a great summer!

05/28/2024

Hands for Growing starts tomorrow, May29! Let's get this summer started!

04/24/2024

Hands for Growing 2024 is gearing up! Follow the link below to register. We have so much fun learning skills needed to grow a healthy garden and relating those to skills needed to grow healthy relationships. There are games, creative projects, FOOD!, gardening (of course). https://www.sidneystpats.com/hands-for-growing

03/06/2024

IT'S ALMOST TIME TO GET GROWING! PLANS ARE BEING MADE FOR THIS COMING SUMMER. Click here for more info and to register on-line. https://www.sidneystpats.com/hands-for-growing

10/04/2023

Sidney HFG folks...get out to the garden! Pick peppers and pumpkins, check out the tomatoes and strawberries, cut dill...it's going to frost and maybe freeze this Friday night. The water to the garden got shut-off today. The season is done
🥺 Thank you all for everything this summer. What a great group we have!

09/13/2023

Sidney Fall garden update:The watermelon sounds hollow when I tap it...whoever wants it can come and get it! I'll leave it a few days and if it is still here I'll take it and put it on the give away cart outside St Pat's. Some of the pumpkins have left the garden and are checking out the horseshoe pits. We have a beautiful large green pumpkin and the white ghost pumpkin is still growing. Whenever I come to water I find a few strawberries to eat, so sweet and good! Come and get some! There are some peppers that need a few more days and then you can come and get them. The marigolds took over the pots this year, there are other flowers in there, you just can't see them. 🙄 You can tell that we aren't out here every week weeding and caring for our garden, our group is missed! We have time before our first forcast frost so come out and enjoy!

08/16/2023

Sidney, Hands for Growing, Ice Cream Social was postponed for a day because of weather. When we met Wednesday evening it was beautiful weather. We had such a great turnout! Kids got to show their parents through the garden, our dedicated high school team members shared some things about the garden, t-shirts were signed, and lots of yummy, sticky banana splits and ice cream sundays were enjoyed. We managed to corral most everyone for a picture to celebrate. What a great evening.
And then....the next day....the hail came. It beat up parts of the garden but didn't destroy it. The pumpkins look rough but we left them on the vine, and a few days later there are new blossoms and leaves starting! The watermelon were a little bit protected and are still growing. So, all in all, we got pretty lucky. What a great summer! It was one of our biggest groups and despite the chilly, wet weather that slowed things down we had a great time and learned a lot.

08/16/2023

LIfe has been busy so our last posts are late. Here is our last week of this summer! It's hard to believe we're done. For our last day we always do games to review/teach about the year, clean up and get ready for the Family Ice Cream Social. We started hanging the birdhouses, but didn't get them all up. Hopefully that will happen soon. While we were there, we decided that because of the serious weather warnings to postpone the Ice Cream social until the following night, Wednesday. We covered our watermelon and pumpkins to give them a little shelter.

08/02/2023

Week 9: Oh, the Pressure! We missed our boys this week, but the ladies carried on!
We talked about pressure of all kinds - peer, barometric, blood- pressure we use in cooking, with water, pressure that lets planes fly, fill balloons, etc. Then we talked about the pressure plants are under to produce seeds & why that's critical. In groups we hunted for seeds in the garden, taped them on paper & identified them (sometimes with a sense of humor about their names.) Of course, some seeds are inside so then drawings take the place of seeds. For the relationship part we reviewed personal pressures using a Jeopardy game, which was a big hit! The pressure is on to finish art projects and get the garden ready for the Family Ice Cream Social next week. Birdhouses were completed, and the garden rock snake was put together. Anyone who would like to add a rock painted with a design or words of kindness/encouragement is invited to do so!