Who knew that carrot stems could be used to swat away flies – and pesky boys?

That was just one of the discoveries Wednesday when 80 youngsters from Powder Valley School invaded the gardens of Valerie and Rod Tachenko of Medical Springs.

The field trip was part of Powder’s Farm-to-School program, which is sponsored by Oregon Rural Action.

Last May, Val Tachenko went to the school and helped the students plant pumpkin seeds, which they tended for a month.

On June 1, the kids took their pumpkins out to the farm for planting. Each plant was marked with a wooden stick that had the child’s name on one side and the pumpkin’s name on the other.

Those pumpkins grew all summer, and Wednesday was harvest day.

But first, the children gleaned the garden for their “hobo lunch” – a

hamburger patty topped with cheese and vegetables that is wrapped in

foil and cooked in a fire.

The kids were divided into 10 groups, who rotated through stations to

gather onions, carrots, celery, potatoes and sweet peppers.

“I got two on one pull!” shouted Bailee Briggs, 6, as she harvested her carrots.

After scrubbing dirt from the potatoes and carrots, the students

carried their bounty to a table where adults chopped the ingredients.

The packets boasted a rainbow of vegetables: purple potatoes, yellow carrots, red peppers, sweet white onions and green celery.

While their lunch cooked, all 80 kids headed downhill to the pumpkin

patch, where they found their plant and traced the vines to their

perfect orange squash.

Then they ran back uphill (chances are most slept well that night) and settled in to eat their meal.

Most everyone tried a taste of the vegetables, which furthers the

Farm-to-School goal of connecting children with the food they eat.

At school, where a garden flourished all summer, the children are seeing their homegrown vegetables in the salad bar.

“And they’re making good choices,” said Molly Smith, who teaches third grade.