Maintaining our outdoor classroom and trails, planting fruits and vegetables in our raised flower beds and to start seeds in a seed starter kit in our green house. We want to be able to plant trees and bushes that are indigenous to our area that will also help feed animals. The fruits and vegetables we want to plant will be used on our salad bar at lunch once grown and picked.
We have an outdoor classroom and nature trails on our property. Each year we have two \\\\\\\"Outdoor Cleanup Days\\\\\\\" where students and parents come on the weekend and help us maintain our outdoor classroom and trails. We blow off any leaves and debris from the pavilion, cut trees and shrubbery that is over growing on the trails and get rid of poison ivy / poison oak. We also want to plant seasonally appropriate fruits and vegetables that we can grow in our raised flower beds, then serve them on our salad bar at lunch. Each grade level will plant a different fruit or vegetable of the class\\\\\\\'s choosing, so that we have a variety to choose from. The students will help maintain the flower beds by weeding, watering and then picking the fruits and vegetables. In our green house we would like to initiate seed starters of different flowers to plant around the property. The students will help maintain the greenhouse seeds and flowers by making sure they are watered, getting enough fresh air and sunlight. Each class will help maintain the green house plants.
It was wonderful and the students had a wonderful time working in the garden and the green house. They enjoyed learning about what fruits and vegetables grow best in our area and being able to see them grow to be used in our cafeteria!
That the type of soil will affect how well our garden will grow. Not just the fruits and vegetables, but the flowers as well. We also learned that having a water source near the garden is crucial, so having the rain barrel near the garden is useful (as long as it rains enough)
Where we place the garden so that a water source is easier to access!
Was seeing the children's face light up when they saw all of their hard work come to fruition!
You need to be sure you have a reliable water source to keep plants and fruits and veggies hydrated. I would also not start with seeds and maybe use fruits and plants that are already a little bit grown.We found the seeds initially were harder to keep growing over plants that were already established.
