Planting the Spring Garden Beds- middle school garden club

Three of 8 beds with grids - peas, lettuces, chards, beets, radishes, spinach, bok choy, cabbage, leeks, cilantro and carrots have been NEATLY planted. Kits for each bed included: students' own spring garden layout,  pre-cut yarns, thumbtacks, chalk, a ruler, and tongue depressors to label the sections with the names of the seeds planted. Students worked in pairs: measuring,  positioning the yarn, and planting the seeds they wanted as per packet directions. How many seeds are needed for a 3' row if the seeds need to be placed at 4" intervals. H-m-m-m! Math in the garden? 
Beds were partially planted. Middle bed includes a large buttercrunch lettuce and some kale that wintered over. Front bed includes a plug of buttercrunch lettuce being grown outdoors for an annual Lettuce Challenge.
Notice the milk jugs from the winter sowing project. Seedlings are still growing and will be removed once they are sturdy enough to be transplanted into the prepared beds. 

And on June 11th - here's what we have to harvest so far. Looking good!

Why School Gardens Matter

It's great to find an article that sums up, and then some, what has been going on in our project since 2009. We knew why we wanted to establish vegetable gardens on site in all of the schools in Stamford, CT. We knew it meant lots of extra work for our teachers. But we knew the students would grow in many ways - the ways only a garden can make one grow.
Enjoy!

http://www.organicgardening.com/living/why-school-gardens-matter?cm_mmc=LivingLightlyNL-_-1236640-_-03252013-_-why_school_gardens_matter_title

Grasping at Straw

Here's a link to an exciting article for the beginner gardener or for the seasoned-but-tired gardener.
A way to have a neat, complete vegetable garden, contained, simple, easy, inexpensive, attractive and productive.
What have I left out? H-m-m-m - best to read it yourself.  Oh, yes, good for schools or for home gardens.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/garden/grasping-at-straw-a-foolproof-vegetable-plot.html?pagewanted=all

Garden Bed Grid

I love neat gardens. 

I've never had one. 

Here's my latest attempt to make it happen this year.
This is a simple project to enable students to "see" the garden grid for square-foot gardening before they touch the soil. To be done in pairs or trios.
Materials: sturdy rectangular boxes like the ones for clementines, some yarn, scissors, rulers or measuring tape, thumbtacks or tape, and graph paper, (see option*).

Process: Mark off the inches around the rim of the box.
Cut  the yarn to just over the desired length and staple or tape in place at determined intervals. 2 colors make it easier to see.
Talk about the number of spaces they will use for each type of seed to be planted.
Consider the spacing per seed, the height of the plant, the compatibility of each plant with its neighbors. The students can draw or write the names of the plants they plan to grow in each section. They can consider a block of about 6 sections - 2' x 3' - for example, for their peas.
They can repeat outside with their raised beds. Step 1 - mark off the feet on the raised bed frame. Using long lengths of yarn and thumbtacks begin to make the grid outside. Then the planting can begin, neatly. *Option: teacher demonstrates with the little wooden box. Students graph their garden on paper and then transfer that plan to the garden bed. 

Have fun!

How to Winter Sow

Winter sowing is a great activity for children and for any gardeners who are craving to get started on their garden even when the weather says, "Hold on!". Read directions completely before starting.

Gather necessary tools and ingredients:empty plastic gallon 
container, duct tape,  awl, scissors, 
markers, seeds, 1 quart potting soil, water.

Cut through the plastic container but...

...leave the "hinge-handle" attached.

Poke drainage  holes into the base with awl.

Fill base with 1 quart wet potting soil.

Select a few seeds. Read directions on packet.

Space according to directions.

Notice spacing, press seeds gently into prepared, wet soil.
Add a bit more water if necessary.

Place a seed ID label into soil.

Tape cut area securely with duct tape.

Place your mini-greenhouse in the garden. Let nature take over. Moisture will be evident inside the jug. You may peek  inside after a few weeks to see if anything is sprouting. When the temperature inside the "greenhouse" is high enough, the seeds will germinate. If the container seems dry, you may add a little bit  of water from the top.  The seedlings will be ready to transplant into the garden at the appropriate time. They will be "hardy" from the start.  Patience!

Winter Decorations for Outdoors

Here's a simple outdoor winter decoration -  a fresh spray of evergreen branches scaled to fit the area (a door, a tree, a mailbox, a street sign post, a gate...)  With proper supervision children can make these. They can be brought home for a spot outside, or sold for fundraising purposes, or given as a gift to a teacher, a bus driver, etc.

Process: 

• cut lots of branches from various evergreens- hollies, firs, pines...
• cluster 5 or 6 or more branches together to make a spray
• secure with a rubber band temporarily
• wrap securely with a double strand of thin green wire 
• twist the wire to create a small loop in order to attach the spray to a nail or picture hook
• attach a prepared bow or make a bow,  add pine cones or other decoration
• shake it to be sure everything holds together
• trim or adjust the top edges of the branches so they are straight across
• deliver with a smile

How to Plant Garlic - NOW!

Just before you finish up with the garden, you can still plant garlic - as long as the ground is workable.

Start with a nice, fat, organic bulb.

Break into cloves.

Prepare soil: loose and crumbly in a bed.

Drop cloves about 6" deep into holes. Tip points up - just like flower bulbs.

Pat into place, add salt hay if you wish, and wait 'til springtime. Garlic will be ready for harvest in late June.