Spring is around the corner and the garden is responding.  The plants are growing rapidly and many vegetables are available for harvest.  It is also time to start planning the spring/summer plantings.  Now is the time to get beds planted with seeds: tomatoes, peppers, squash, basil, beans, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, parsley, etc.  There are lots of seeds in the toolshed.  If there is something you want to plant that you do not see in the shed, let me know and we will get it.  Also, if you have fava beans in your bed, you may want to cut them all (or most of them) at soil level (leaving the roots to compost in the soil) to make room for the new plantings.  If you want to harvest some fava beans, I recommend leaving just a few plants.

 

Tasks for the Garden this week:. 

1)      Check your bed for ripe veggies: radishes, carrots and greens may be ready for harvest; garlic will be ready closer to summer.

2)      Plant seeds in the greenhouse for spring plantings: tomatoes, squash, beans, basil, peppers and salad greens.

3)      Add top soil (from the pile on the outside of the fence near the big play structure) or compost (dig it out from beneath the pile) to your bed to prepare for the spring planting cycle.

4)       Water the greenhouse seedlings if they appear dry (mark the clipboard to keep track of when the seedlings were watered).  Teachers and garden parents should determine whether the seedlings are dry before allowing children to water as it appears that the seedlings have been getting overwatered.

5)      Check the worm bins to make sure they have enough dry/brown material; if it seems damp or if fruit flies are present, shred newspaper and add it to the bin.  Always make sure to cover the food and newspaper with the cardboard which will also help keep the flies away.

6)      Pull weeds in and around the vegetable beds 

7)      Load up a wheelbarrow of woodchips from outside the fence behind the compost area and distribute them on any exposed dirt pathways and throughout the orchard area (this will keep the pathways from getting to muddy and will act as a natural soil builder as the wood decomposes)

8)      Pick up and dispose of any trash

9)      Make sure the bird baths have water

10)   Clean and return tools to the shed

11)   Return wheelbarrows to compost area or behind shed

12)   Hang up gloves in the tool shed

13)   Rake leaves from the pathways and deposit in compost pile or use as mulch around vegetables in beds or around the roses

14)   Fill the bird feeders with seed (in toolshed in metal garbage cans)

 

Garden Curriculum:

If you ever are left wondering how to use the garden to tie into the lessons that the children are currently studying, there are grade level appropriate garden binders available in the Teacher's Lounge and Life Lab lesson books that may give you some ideas.  Also, Mari Allen (allenmari@hotmail.com) is our parent volunteer garden-curriculum advisor.  Contact her if you have any questions after reviewing the garden binders.

 

Garden Record Keeping:

We would like to start keeping an online Garden Journal that everyone will have access to on the garden blog (http://ednamaguire.org/garden/) so that other garden parents can compare notes or to allow parents to see what is happening in their child's class.  Linda Dunne has created a journal spot on the garden blog so we are ready to start recording weekly notes.  Please email me once a week to let me know what you did with your class that week (any tasks, planting or other activities) and I will post it.

 

Composting Alert:

Composting is a great way to reduce the amount of garbage that gets sent to the landfill while also producing a valuable fertilizer to feed our garden (this weekend we used many wheelbarrows of our compost to amend the pumpkin patch and reading area).  Edna does a great job of diverting a lot of food waste from the garbage and into the compost.  In the garden, we have two parts to our composting program: worm bins in the tool shed and a compost pile in the back of the garden.  Please remember to only put food waste into the worm bins and not on the compost pile.  Food can attract wildlife and rodents so it should only be added to the worm bins which are sealed.  We now have three wooden worm bins (behind the tool shed) as well as the plastic can o' worm bins.  Thanks for keeping Edna green!

 

 

Spring Fest (Sunday, May 31, 2009):

Jen Sheets (Jmsheetz@hotmail.com) and Barbara Bleckman (barbaracrampton@comcast.net) have volunteered to coordinate the Spring Fest.  They are seeking volunteers to assist with the Spring Fest, including (but not limited to), Bake Sale Coordinator (Lisa Joss? Please?), Cool Beverage Coordinator (lemonade, iced tea, water), Crafts Coordinator-Teacher Liaison and volunteers to work the event.  If you are interested, please contact them to sign up.  This is one of the garden's biggest fundraisers.

 

Garden Club:

Please let your students know that the Garden Club meets informally every Thursday at lunch in the garden.  Carrie Morgan supervises the garden club and Rebecca from Next Generation is there every other Thursday to help with garden projects.  All grade levels welcome. 

 

Garden blog:

Check out the garden blog on the school website for garden news, pictures and garden recipes (http://www.ednamaguire.org/garden/).  Please send me your nutritious garden recipes for posting.

 

REMINDER: At the end of the school day, please lock up the garden if it is unlocked.  The garden is usually unlocked during the school day and I am not always around at pick up time so please take a moment to make sure it gets locked up.  Also, hang up your gloves and put away your tools.  Barbara Bleckman and Luz Castro cleaned and organized the garden shed.  The gloves are now cleaned, organized and hanging above the worm bin.  Please make sure they are returned to their place when you are done using them.

 

Please contact me with any questions.

Posted by Saor Stetler on March 16