Haines seventh-graders completed a year-long lesson in the life-cycle of food Monday, when they harvested vegetables from garden plots they fertilized last year with compost of their own lunches.

The project started a year ago, when the same students were charged with making compost of table scraps from the school cafeteria. The work got smelly but the fruit of their labor became evident during this week’s harvest.

Students gleaned two plastic toboggans of potatoes and seven large bowls of potatoes, carrots and onions in about 20 minutes of digging in four raised beds behind the old primary school.

“This is the motherlode,” said Autumn Gross, as she excavated armloads of potatoes.

Neil Little was surprised by the girl of carrots that grew there from seed. “I didn’t think they’d grow this big. They’re huge. We got three buckets. It’s a lot of food. I think it’s going to last a while.”

The class dined on some of their potatoes baked at the school Tuesday, and will have potato salad next week made from their harvest.

Junior high teacher Tennie Bentz said this week’s bounty seemed to make up for complaints about the earthy smell of compost last spring. “When we pulled all the stuff out, it looked great, so I think they felt better about it.”

This year’s sixth graders will take over composting duties, while seventh graders study plants this semester, Bentz said. “The whole idea was an ecology unit. They took dead plants form their lunch and made new plants. Last year we talked about how the same process happens naturally in the woods.”

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