Mark Your Calendars!

Garden Work Day
When~Saturday, April 5th, 2008 11:00-2:00

*A great way to get your Volunteer hours in!!*

What will we be doing ~ We will be working on bamboo fencing, composting and spreading chicken manure, digging up a few invasive plants, irrigation, hanging garden art, shelac-ing benches and fences and fertilizing the citrus trees.

Who should come ~ YOU and anyone you know who doesn't mind getting dirty and working hard. (Children may come...they can play but there will be no childcare and many of the jobs are not so kid friendly!)

What should you bring ~ Just bring yourself, garden clothes, sturdy shoes, gloves and something from our garden wish list (look right), if you want!

And Why ~ Because the SDCCS School Garden is for all of us to enjoy and
SPRING IS almost HERE!

Bring Your Succulent Cuttings & Your Old Shoes!!

Our Fabulous Art Teacher, Allison Bell has begun collecting succulents for a California Native Plant Garden we will start in the spring, it will be located behind the auditorium, near the PE equipment bathrooms. We are really excited about this new garden !




The overall plan is to create a space that has an ornamental and artistic feel using recycled shoes with succulent cuttings planted inside them. We would love to have some shelving built to house them. Alison is also working with her students to create birdhouses with gourds she has recently acquired that will be displayed in the native garden as well. In addition we would like to have seating, benches with some shade, and eventually large raised mound's housing California Native plants. Succulents are so easy to grow. Just snip off a piece from your favorite plant at home and bring it to school. Alison has two boxes outside her classroom where she is collecting both items of request. If you have a moment have Alison show you the first official shoe and succulent that her students have recently created. We are very excited about this project, but we can't accomplish this without our school community, so please bring what you can!

We will be having a work day in all the gardens on Saturday April 5th and would like to start setting up the new native garden at that time. Look for our next post for more details on that day.

One last request, if there are any carpenters out there that would like to donate some time to build shelves & a few benches, we would love to have you ! Please contact Amy or Annie for more information.

Get to know our trees and pass it on...

Our trees have wonderful names!
In the schools courtyard we have a Golden Rain Tree...

...and at the corner of Linda Vista Rd. and Genessee we have a beautiful Indian Coral Tree...

In the K-2 area we have California Sycamores
shading the grass...



...and in our breezeway between the k-2 area and the middle school
area we have a row of Ornamental Pear Trees!

More Inspiration...

Occasionaly it is a good idea to think big and visualize the ultimate goal, no matter how far off. At this point our gardens are modest and need much work, but life is long and everything grows...so here are some photos from UC Santa Cruz Life Lab with examples of how it "could" be...with YOUR help! (For bigger and more detailed pictures click the "inspiration" link at the right!)




They have great examples of "signs" made from wood, mosaic, paint sticks, metal...



...and wonderful educational garden projects...a human sundial... "where on Earth does your food come from?"...and a "Pizza Garden" (Morgans class is going to do this with garlic, tomatos, oregano, basil etc!)

...and an ultimate-great-fantasy-school-outdoor-kitchen-dream!!



...and just a fun idea, a planter desk!
In so many ways we may as well dream big! Our school is full
of great ideas and inspiring people with a wide array of talents.

The Best Book for Garden Curriculum and More!

This book is in the teacher's lounge
where a growing library of garden information
will be available.

This book, in particular, has so many
ideas for garden learning. It was re-
commended by the Life Lab, the best
garden inspiration around.

Check it out!
AND COME TO THE MEETING
FRIDAY,FEB 8th, 3:30 Morgans rm.

The Next Garden Meeting!

Feb. 8th, 3:30pm
in Morgan's Kindergarten Room

On the agenda so far:
*Spreading the Winter Harvest with the Whole School. (Ideas are welcome!)
*Classrooms Spring Planting Schedule with Garden Liaisons & Volunteers.
*Garden projects/Workday on the horizon.
*Upcoming Grant Proposals.



Spring is when the real fun begins and everyone wants to be outside...lets figure out how to make that happen for every classroom!

Please come and join us !!

Join In the Harvest

Fourth Grade Garden Harvest January 18, 2008:

It was truly amazing and rewarding to see 40 nine-year olds so excited about vegetables! So many proud faces as the veggies were pulled from the garden they had planted with seeds and buds just two months ago!We brought hummus, dried tomato spread, lemons, limes and salt. The children made wraps with the lettuce. "Delicious", "so good", "wow" is what the kids kept saying as they munched down every last leaf.

The parsley was bundled so that each child could bring home a bunch (including a radish or two) to their family. We hope you enjoyed it!

There is more harvesting to be had out there!! If you want your kids to experience a fresh, healthy and yummy snack with their classmates, just contact Amy or Annie.

Try for this week (22nd through 25th) while everything is still fresh!

Check this Out!!

UC Santa Cruz Life Lab...a very inspirational place. This website has wonderful pictures of garden classrooms and activities and is filled with ideas for planting, art in the garden and curriculum!
www.lifelab.org

We Need YOUR Help!!

To all the Parents, Teachers and Families out there who might be unsure of what to do in the Garden lately...this Post is for You ! We have found plenty to do, and don't have enough hands to help !

Now that we have two working Gardens, we really need to get our kids out there doing some real gardening. Some of the classrooms have just jumped in and are really reaping the benefits! Talk with Dmitry, Merril or CJ to find out how much fun they have been having.

With all that needs to be done, we see an opportunity to get more Teachers, Students and Parents in the Garden. What we need are people to take the kids out to the Garden once a week to work, draw, map, compost, pull weeds, read names of plants, research about them, etc. We find that taking small groups of children at a time is best, the ideal amount would be 5, but if you need to take more, you can still have lots of fun! The opportunities for learning are endless and remember you don't need to have gardening knowledge to accomplish this ! If you need ideas please contact Annie or Amy, or better yet, come by the Garden on Thursdays, its going to be a regular work day and Annie takes a few kids at a time from Miss Kate and Mr V's class from 11:00 to 12:30. Those of you who are already Garden Liaison's, if you cannot get to school once a week, then see if you can find another Parent interested in helping ! Teachers.... we have some great books on Gardening Curriculum on Order and will set up a "Gardening Library" in the Teacher Lounge soon!

So here is our latest list of all the garden tasks that need to be done in the Gardens.

1.Weed and weed some more!! The rain has brought many! If you are unsure if something is a weed, just leave it...there are a few areas where wildflowers have been planted...and what you might think is a weed, might be a budding beautiful wildflower, but for the most part, if looks like clover or dandelion, PULL IT! (The bed in the K-2 Garden that is along the chain link fence is where the wildflower seeds have been planted, so don't pull there.)

2. Pick up leaves. We have had the children doing this quite a bit, but remember to have them experience other aspects of the Garden as well, so they are not just doing the same task each time.

3. Add compost to the soil. We have fresh bags of compost by the back garden bench that can be used around the base of each and every plant and the KIDS LOVE to do this! Just fill a bucket full and carry it around with you as you dig down a bit around the plants and pack some compost in there.

4.Sweep dirt and debris around the outside of the Garden.

5. Harvest, taste, cook the vegetables that are ready. The Third and Fourth Graders have Radishes, Lettuce and Parsley that are just about ready to become a salad ! In the K-2 Garden there is Swiss Chard and Lettuce ready to be eaten. A great way to use Swiss Chard is to bring in some Humus, and let the kids make small wraps with them, similar to the size of grape leaves! Also, if you are harvesting Broccoli, just cut pieces that are ready, and more will grow, the same goes for any Greens!

We also have some Handy Man or Woman jobs that need to be done...please let us know if you are interested in doing any of these !

~The 3rd-8Th Grade Garden desperately needs a worm bin and a compost pile, is anyone up for transforming the old sandbox that is currently hanging out there into a full functioning compost pile ??

~On the subject of Composting, is there anyone out there that is passionate about composting that could dedicate some time to helping develop a school wide plan? We would just need you to commit to a few hours a week. This would be such a fun way to get your volunteer hours in! We can direct you to a center in Solana Beach that will help us out in our efforts.

~Both Gardens could use Rain Saver Barrels, they are quite expensive at $200 each, maybe a donation would help, or they could be built with garbage cans, spigots and hoses, this would require some expertise.

One last announcement... If you want to volunteer to just help out in the K-2 Garden, without working with the children, please come on Thursdays and Amy or Annie will be there and would love to have help in our weekly work. Its been quite enjoyable to bring coffee, or tea, share stories and get our hands dirty... Please come join us !!

Compare and Contrast...

Has anyone noticed the difference between the plants growing in the K-2 garden vs. the plants growing in the Raised Beds in the 3-8 Garden? Well, check it out! There is a huge difference!

While many of the plants were from the same nursery and many of the same seeds were used the difference seems to be in the SOIL! The Raised Beds (3-8) were prepared with fresh topsoil and about 3/4 compost. The K-2 bed was soil tested before planting, we then added compost and specific nutrients based on test results, rototilled and then planted. We have found that soil to be quite sandy still and are currently working on strategies for bringing it to the ideal growing medium. This makes for some excellent learning opportunities, in addition some fun experiments with our children.

Our first experiment will involve the 1rst and 2nd graders on Thursday in the K-2 garden....we will dig up the radish and carrots seeds, that have not done to well, then have the kids add lots of nutrient rich compost. We know they love getting there hands dirty, so they will turn the soil, then replant new seeds and track the results.


radishes/raised beds


radishes/K-2 garden


parsley/raised beds


parsley/K-2 garden


broccoli/raised beds


broccoli/K-2 garden


peas/raised beds


peas/K-2 garden

Destination: TROLL NATION

It's amazing what our creative and industrious kindergarten, first and second graders have been building...digging...excavating...and where they have been getting really muddy...it's Troll Nation!




If you haven't had a chance to visit , come check it out in the k-2 area behind the sand box.
It started as a simple hole back in October and has blossomed into tunnels, caves and roads. When it rains it becomes miniature rivers and channels!



It's incredible what a little digging in the earth can do for focus, stress relief, fun, community, and a general feeling of connectedness.

We hope, when the garden starts to get more established, the kids will feel a similar sense of ownership and find such wholehearted enjoyment!

Have a Wonderful Holiday Break with your Beautiful and Creative Children!!

Bird Houses...

Gourds make great birdhouses, which attract birds, who eat bugs...and the circle of a happy garden continues...

This is why we plan to plant gourds in the spring.
In the mean time we are actively looking for folks with gourds to donate to the cause.

Wouldn't it be great for our kids to paint them and fill our gardens with color and birds?

Let us know if anyone has a good gourd resource!

...and for all you builders out there, any kind of birdhouse idea would be welcome and fabulous...either to bring in a bunch already made for the kids to paint or even to lead a building workshop?

The Garden Art Ideas are endless...we love to see art appear in the garden. Feel free, teachers and liasons, to add to our gardens in any way you wish...as long as it's rain proof !

Holiday Garden Maintenance!

Over the Holiday Break our Garden is going to need some Care!

If it is sunny and dry it will need watering every two- four days.

It works best if two people work together, and the time it takes is about 1 hour.

The work includes watering the following...



1~The K-2 Garden.
2~The compost and worms.
3~The Passion Vines in the Kinder Area
4~The Strawberry and Pea Planter Boxes next to the Kindergarden Room.
5~The 5 Planter boxes outside the Fourth and First Grade Classrooms.
6~The Raised Beds in the 3-8 Garden
7~The Lemon Tree.
8~Remove Leaves from around all the plants in each Garden and Planter Boxes, especially Eucalyptus leaves.

If we have lots of rain...which we would love, then there may not be a need to come at all.

Please let us know if you would like to get some extra volunteer hours in by tending the Garden. We would like to get a schedule organized soon! As of now, we need about 6 volunteers, and you may only come one day during the whole break. Once we know who will be helping, we can go over all the details with you just before the break.

See you in the Garden !

Wish List ?!!!...

The Water Saver Rain Barrel
After all this beautiful rain, boy do
we wish we had one of these...
(Santa, are you listening?)

Actually, there are ways to make a barrel
like this with a spigot attachment for a hose and a good old fashion garbage can.

This may be one of the projects on the horizon!