Potatoes - in February!

I'm so excited. I decided to work outside a bit today and was turning over a bed when, OMG, there were potatoes. Yes, I had planted them back in August and then ignored them thru the winter. Well, I guess they were growing all mild winter. The ground apparently didn't freeze. YUM!

Thoughtful Planning Pays Off for School Gardens

I just love it when a friend sends along an article at just the right time. Thanks, Marie.
Here's a snapshot of what to do and when by Master Gardener, Laurie M.Lago Rispoli. Her clear, concise advice on starting a school garden hits  all the high points.
Let's get growing!
Thoughtful Planning Pays Off for School Gardens

November - from the Garden to the Kitchen

We had our surprise Halloween snowfall - enough to remind us what's ahead and what we need to do before real winter sets in.  Check out   link  for a complete list by zone. At our school we are already moving indoors to make our soups and frittata and anything else that uses vegetables. We can still harvest parsley and kale for the soups, and sage for Thanksgiving menus.

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/do-list-november?page=0,3

Curriculum Ideas to Share

We just had our October GIVE meeting. Gardening is always about sharing - sharing the harvest, sharing ideas, websites, worries, and wonder.  (Above photo is part of the harvest of one school garden shared with the local Food Pantry - part of their 500 pounds donated this their first summer of gardening.)  So, suffice it to say,  we enjoyed a good summer season. Moving right along, now's the time to plant garlic, to get the beds ready for winter, to set up new beds, and to weave gardening into the curriculum of our schools and into the lives of our children and their families.
To that end, you may enjoy a look at Ridgefield,CT's Garden Activity Guide- in 3 parts:

https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f5d4c0b696&view=att&th=1332711fa9fb84e2&attid=0.1.1&disp=inline&zw

https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f5d4c0b696&view=att&th=1332711fa9fb84e2&attid=0.1.3&disp=safe&zw

https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f5d4c0b696&view=att&th=1332711fa9fb84e2&attid=0.1.5&disp=safe&zw

Another excellent site for those with a climate akin to Chicago:
http://www.grannysgardenschool.com/
And for those who need a boost of funds, check out  http://www.donorschoose.org/teachers
This should be enough to keep us busy for a while. Enjoy.

summer garden scene

Summer in the garden - the beds are bursting, more wood chips have been spread, and we add to the  compost every week. Notice the use of wooden pallets, 7 of them rescued from the trash, secured by giant zip ties and, voila,  compost bins. New beds made of recycled lumber 2" x 8" are just what we needed. It's been a very satisfying season so far. Now if we could figure out who/what is nibbling at some of our chard and lettuce. Yes, rabbits are around and No, we're not fenced. Some evidence of deer browsing, too. But there's plenty to go around. Can't wait for the students to see the garden when they return at the end of August. 'Til then we'll keep up our weekly watering, weeding, and harvesting. This week we picked a green pepper and a few jalapenos, a white eggplant, cherry tomatoes,  uncovered a few potatoes, and a couple of onions, cut lots of Italian parsley, and enjoyed a few thornless blackberries, too.

Reader's Digest honors GIVE

Just learned that there's a feature in the June issue of Reader's Digest  on GIVE - pages 90-92- the Power of 1 and here's a link to a related item
Let's keep growing!
http://www.greentowns.com/initiative/green-initiative-for-vegetables-in-education

Sharecropping, anyone?

This was news to me but I suspect the idea has been around. A Master Gardener friend explained how her own garden does not have enough sun for vegetables. Solution: she found a friend with a sunny garden area, a friend who didn't want to create a vegetable garden, but who was happy to give up some space. Bottom line: both got to harvest the vegetables. Yours, mine, ours!