Garden Project Manuals

You can learn more about the garden project by completing one of the project activity guides, based on your grade level:

• Garden Level A: See Them Sprout (Grades 3-4)
• Garden Level B: Let’s Get Growing (Grades 5-6)
• Garden Level C: Take Your Pick (Grades 7-9)
• Garden Level D: Growing Profits (Grades 10-12)
• Garden Helper’s Guide

Project manuals may also be available to purchase at the Marion County Extension office, and older editions of manuals (if available) are free. Contact us to ask about availability!

Showcasing What You’ve Learned

You can create a project exhibit to showcase what you’ve learned while working on your project. Project exhibits are submitted for judging at the annual Marion County 4-H Showcase.

Exhibit Guidelines

• Garden exhibit guidelines for 4-H members grades 3-12
• Suggested 4-H Garden Exhibits
• Marion County 4-H poster exhibit guidelines and tips
• A reference list must be included with your poster.

Score Cards

• Garden Single Vegetable Score Card
• Garden Collection Score Card
• Garden Single Herb Display Score Card
• Garden Potato Score Card
• Garden Poster/Notebook Score Card

Advancing to the State Fair

• Yes! Garden projects exhibits from 4-H members grades 3-12 are eligible to advance to the State Fair. Garden vegetables and herbs do not have to qualify at the Marion County Showcase to be exhibited at the State Fair. Just make sure you are enrolled in the Garden project in 4-H Online to be eligible for the State Fair. You can sign up for the State Fair during Showcase check-in or by contacting the Marion County Extension office.

Cloverbuds (Grades K-2)

Exhibits

• Get your hands-on experience with growing vegetables. Gardens can be plot gardens or container gardens. Choose one of the following vegetables to exhibit on a heavy-duty paper plate: one (1) head of cabbage, three (3) carrots, three (3) cucumbers, five (5) green beans, three (3) green peppers, three (3) onions, three (3) potatoes, five (5) radishes, three (3) ears of sweet corn, or three (3) tomatoes. Choose a different vegetable to exhibit each year. Vegetables should be grown from seeds or plant starts (tomatoes, peppers, etc.), and cared for and harvested by the Cloverbud 4-H member. Your produce may be donated to local food organizations.
• If you do not have the opportunity to grow a garden, then exhibit an educational poster on a garden topic (how to plant garden, garden pests, parts of a vegetable plant, etc.). A reference list must be included with your poster.
• Cloverbud projects are for exhibition only (not judged), so there are no score cards, and exhibits are not eligible to advance to the State Fair.

More Garden Project Resources

• See Indiana 4-H’s garden project page for more resources.