School gardens help kids understand where food comes from,
and which foods promote health.
As well as being a fun co-operative project, a school garden gives children a
great sense of achievement when the crops are ready for harvest,
and links to many curriculum subjects.
More and more parents want their children to
grow up appreciating organic fresh food,
and research confirms that kids that grow vegetables, eat vegetables.
Whether you're a teacher in a school that is considering a garden, a parent helper, or a volunteer,
this blog will give you some practical ideas to plan for success.
You can create a growing area in even the smallest of spaces,
and you don't need lots of expensive equipment to get going.
In fact, using recycled materials and making do with what is to hand
is a great way for kids to be creative and to learn about the environment -
so start small and plan to expand.
Raised beds are the easiest way to start.
Find a sunny spot somewhere that will be easily seen,
as this will generate interest amongst children and parents.
If siting the garden near a playground
be sure to include fencing to protect the plants from stray balls
Shallow raised beds can be placed directly onto grass,
or deeper ones can be placed on concrete or paved surfaces.
Build them no more than 3 or 4 feet wide so that children can
reach into the bed easily without stepping on the growing area,
which compresses the soil and limits plant growth.
Fill the raised beds with good quality compost to give your plants the best possible start,
and you're ready to start planting.
Some schools create square foot beds
to grow a lot of different crops in a small space.
Each foot square has a different vegetable sown into it.
In the Garden Planner, you can switch to the Square Foot Gardening mode by clicking the SFG button.
You can then easily arrange 1 foot squares of plants on your plan.
Each square displays the number of plants at the top left -
between 1 and 16 plants per square.
Alternatively, traditional planting layouts can be used,
which is particularly good for larger plants and rows.
Make sure that the colored areas around the plants don't overlap
to ensure that they have enough room to grow well.
Select easy-to-grow crops that require minimal maintenance to give you the best chances of success.
To do this, use the Garden Planner filter feature to show those plants which are easy to grow.
These will be displayed in the plant selection bar.
You can also select to only see plants that can be
harvested during certain months of the year in your area -
particularly useful if you want to avoid planting crops that mature during the school holidays.
Get started with some of these easy-to-grow plants
Early potatoes, which can be started off in the classroom,
grow quickly once planted out, and are great to dig up just before the summer break.
Peas will scramble up wigwams made out of recycled materials or garden canes
and are delicious eaten straight from the pod.
Climbing beans can also be grown in this way.
Rainbow chard, which grows in several bright colors
and will survive all kinds of weather.
Salad leaves, such as cut-and-come-again lettuces are very easy to grow
and can be harvested over several weeks.
Strawberries are enjoyed by children of all ages
and it's simple to create a cascade of pots which will then produce
baby runner plants later in the summer
Perennial herbs like rosemary, lavender, oregano and thyme
attract bees and butterflies, offer strong scents to explore
and can be harvested and turned into take-homes in art or design classes,
such as scented cards or lavender bags.
They're easy to take care of and will grow year after year with minimal care
Sunflowers, which are easy to grow as class competitions.
After flowering, the seeds can be used to attract birds to the garden during the winter.
Start them in pots on a windowsill before planting them out a few weeks later
when the weather warms up.
For the more adventurous class, why not create a pizza garden -
growing all the ingredients for pizza sauce.
Then invite a local chef to teach children how to make their own pizza or pasta dishes.
And, if you have a lot to space or can involve parents to help grow at home,
seeing who can grow the biggest pumpkin is an excellent activity
leading up to pumpkin carving competitions at Halloween.
Some plants will need watering and caring for during school holidays,
so it's a good idea to have volunteers on hand who can do this,
or choose crops with low watering needs.
Once you've got to grips with the basics, and have volunteers to help,
consider adding these extra features to provide
year-round interest in your school garden
A composter will provide you with a rich source of compost
which you can put back into your raised beds
and, with care, will allow you to reduce the amount of waste.
Kids can be encouraged to eat fruit so that the skins and peel can be added to the compost heap
(but make sure it's covered to prevent wasps from from swarming)
and you can even add tea bags and other suitable kitchen waste.
For older children, studying the life cycle of plants and animals links well to composting.
Bug hotels can be made and hung up to encourage insects to the garden,
and you can create mini-beast areas by leaving cut logs piled together,
provided termites aren't an issue in your area.
A pond can make an excellent source for studying food chains,
and with luck frogs or toads may take up residence,
which eat garden pests such as slugs.
Just make sure the pond has a safety grid fitted, or is fenced off to prevent accidents.
With a little planning, a garden can become the focus of many engaging school projects
and can lay the foundations of healthy eating for life.
Check out these resources for further ideas!
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