I know I've read something about this but now cannot track down the details. Anyway, any help or suggestions (especially if you've done anything similar)very gratefully received. 
School kitchen garden - please help!
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In September I am planning to start a vegetable garden at my local junior school with the intention of getting pupils involved in growing and maintainance, recording their progress and, ultimately, consuming and selling their produce. I've got lots of ideas but just thought I'd find out if anyone knows of any good resources I could make use of. Did I read details on this site about a scheme to support such a project, including links to other schools doing the same I know I've read something about this but now cannot track down the details. Anyway, any help or suggestions (especially if you've done anything similar)very gratefully received.
I know I've read something about this but now cannot track down the details. Anyway, any help or suggestions (especially if you've done anything similar)very gratefully received. Hi Poppyseed,
I'm planning on doing the same this autumn and if you go onto Garden Organics web site you will find a section dedicated to school gardening,they do a support pack and have a section on schools that belong to their gardening club.
I had a chance to look round a primary that has a superb veg garden with beds made from sleepers and tyres and they have a small polytunnel too.It was really inspiring and the children were so proud of what they had achieved.
I'm planning on doing the same this autumn and if you go onto Garden Organics web site you will find a section dedicated to school gardening,they do a support pack and have a section on schools that belong to their gardening club.
I had a chance to look round a primary that has a superb veg garden with beds made from sleepers and tyres and they have a small polytunnel too.It was really inspiring and the children were so proud of what they had achieved.
It seems a good idea until one comes to the practicability of it. You are starting the project at the most difficult time of the year insasmuch as that is well into time to harvest many crops which nobody has provided for, or if you are seeking to start off new crops then many of them will only be harvested after the next summer shutdown. The only way I see round it is first, to make arrangements for stand-ins to cover the work that occurs during the summer holidays, second, that after 1 year of the scheme the next group of pupils will start by taking ofer from the summer 'caretakers' before in their own time planting for their successors. There are very few crops that can be started now to complete their growths during the depths of winter.
Allan
Allan
The school that I looked round had adressed a lot of those problems,the lady who mastermined the plot is a school helper and can do jobs on a regular basis with the help of her 'garden club' children.She has thought about the crops grown so that the children can harvest what they have sown,remember here that the idea is to give children an experience of growing,not to keep a kitchen supplied with veg so the choice will not include the summer staples such as runners,but you can grow say a climbing bean for drying which the children can harvest in September (and then make collages with!)
There was a good herb bed and strawberries,shallots,broad beans and various salad items and of course Pumpkins! The idea is to capture the childrens imagination on the concept that food grows in soil,obvious to you and me but not to a lot of children living on jam-packed estates. It does rely on the goodwill of holiday waterers but rotas can be worked out. It is also a good introduction to biology providing the basics of growth,soil etc. so all in all a task worth tackling.
There was a good herb bed and strawberries,shallots,broad beans and various salad items and of course Pumpkins! The idea is to capture the childrens imagination on the concept that food grows in soil,obvious to you and me but not to a lot of children living on jam-packed estates. It does rely on the goodwill of holiday waterers but rotas can be worked out. It is also a good introduction to biology providing the basics of growth,soil etc. so all in all a task worth tackling.
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Mr Potato Head
... and of course, KG does a schools pack, and has a dedicated schools section online!
http://www.kitchengarden.co.uk/schools.php
http://www.kitchengarden.co.uk/schools.php
I can thoroughly recommend the Kitchen Garden Magazine's schools pack, which includes seeds as well as lots of ideas for projects and you'll receive a 'code' which gives access to the KG schools pages. Our allotment committee sent for this for our local infants school; earlier this year, we made them a raised bed in their school grounds in which to plant vegetables and also the pupils come onto our allotments regularly and we have made them three raised beds here. We've found that they mostly liked growing things in their allotment beds which they could later harvest and eat straight away - peas, broad beans, radish, courgette, although they have also grown cabbages (which they took back to the school to be cooked for school lunch), potatoes and runner beans and they also planted out annual flowers which they had started in pots.
On their regular visits (reception year visits one week, the next week year one visits) as well as tending 'their' beds, they also look round the allotments at other vegetables and fruit being grown and also look at the chickens. Last year they hatched chicks out of eggs and when the chicks needed a permanent 'home', a parent who has an allotment on our site housed them (and looks after them) and the pupils are able to visit their chickens.
During the summer holidays, one of the classroom assistants is going to come onto the allotments to look after the school plots, but most of the produce has already been harvested.
Our project only started in April this year, but we have found that its very worthwhile getting children involved in growing vegetables and visiting our allotments. They will be visiting year round (subject to weather conditions); their beds will be sown with a 'green manure' crop over the winter (and we will talk with them about this, just as we have talked with them about 'muck' and making compost!), and they will start sowing seeds again next April/May.
On their regular visits (reception year visits one week, the next week year one visits) as well as tending 'their' beds, they also look round the allotments at other vegetables and fruit being grown and also look at the chickens. Last year they hatched chicks out of eggs and when the chicks needed a permanent 'home', a parent who has an allotment on our site housed them (and looks after them) and the pupils are able to visit their chickens.
During the summer holidays, one of the classroom assistants is going to come onto the allotments to look after the school plots, but most of the produce has already been harvested.
Our project only started in April this year, but we have found that its very worthwhile getting children involved in growing vegetables and visiting our allotments. They will be visiting year round (subject to weather conditions); their beds will be sown with a 'green manure' crop over the winter (and we will talk with them about this, just as we have talked with them about 'muck' and making compost!), and they will start sowing seeds again next April/May.
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oldherbaceous
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Jea, i think that is absolutely brilliant what you and the other allotment holders are doing.
What a fantastic start for the children, to experience not only there own work, but getting all the knowledge from yourselves as well.
I bet some of those children will keep those memories for life.
Keep up the good work.
Kind regards Old Herbaceous.
Theres no fool like an old fool.
What a fantastic start for the children, to experience not only there own work, but getting all the knowledge from yourselves as well.
I bet some of those children will keep those memories for life.
Keep up the good work.
Kind regards Old Herbaceous.
Theres no fool like an old fool.