1-29-10 Time to Eat our Harvest!

Our class was ready to taste the harvest. With salad dressing donations from the 1C parents we were ready to conduct one more experiment. Which dressing would best enhance the taste of our produce. Each child was given a plate and salad. Each group was given 5 small cups with 5 different dressings. (Sicilian Roasted Garlic, Raspberry, French, Italian, Honey Mustard, & one surprise - Sophie's Secret Homemade Recipe) Let the debates begin! Many ooh's & ahh's, but when the votes came in we had a tie between Sophie's Secret Recipe and Italian.
Conclusion: Our own Sophie may have a future in the food industry and gardening may be hard work, but the rewards are worth the effort! (Just ask Cage!)
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

1-28-10 Community Harvest Time

The community rows survived the freezing temperatures over the holidays.
1C had been monitoring the weather and with the advice of Mr. Painter we knew it was time to harvest our crops. Students broke into harvesting and collection teams. The students went right to work removing the fall foliage that naturally protected our crops. They then went to work harvesting the red and green lettuce leaves along with the spinach. The collection teams went around with zip-lock bags which would later be weighed in the classroom. The total amount was approximately 10.5 pounds. We feel this to be astonishing considering the weather conditions and lack of protection the crops had to endure.
Experiment Conclusion: The row that was planted using the random method produced more because there was no limit on the amount of seeds broadcast.
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

10-21-09 Watering Systems

The students were given the opportunity to implement a watering system for the two rows since our garden time is limited and we are now in charge of three growing areas.
They, in teams, set up a soaking hose that had been fitted with smaller extension lines. They were given the freedom to select where they thought it best to place each system. They also had to check to make sure each system was secured and working. Each child, on a rotation system, was in charge of checking this system weekly.
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

10-20-09 Free-Form Planting

1C has two rows in the Stonewall community garden. The day before with the help of Mr. Painter we planted one row utilizing array boards. Today the students were given the same seeds, excluding garlic, and just scattered the seeds in random patterns. We would now be able to compare the two rows. Our experiment would be to see which row would produce the best. This same day each row was fertilized with worm castings to enhance growth in a natural way. We went back into the classroom to create a graph with our predictions as to which row would be the largest producer.
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

10-19-09 Array Boards

Mr. Painter agreed to meet with 1C on his day off to introduce the students to the idea of a uniform pattern of planting. The students were given ply wood that had holes drilled in a pattern. The students were instructed to place skewers into each hole to create a depression in the soil. They were give green/red lettuce, beets, spinach, and garlic. Each student participated in the planting. Our experiment was to see if the plants produced in a pattern. This experiment would take several months of observations, watering/composting/measuring/illustrating, and monitoring.
Will these hardy cold weather crops survive until next year?
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

Rows Prepared 10-18-09

What a beautiful weekend to meet Mr. Painter.
Two rows became available in the community garden and I quickly
asked Mr. Painter if my current class could conduct extra experiments
in this area. He quickly agreed and put his back into the preparation
work. The rows were ready for the 1st graders the following week.
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

Getting Ready For Next Planting

I got back into the garden this last week with a few classes. The cold, wet weather let up just enough to go out and harvest a few small heads of broccoli and several bags of lettuce and spinach. Mrs. Uskovich's class and I had a nice salad with their lettuce on Friday. The lettuce was great!(but I really needed some ranch dressing). For the most part, the harvest of fall crops will be meager. I'm already thinking about potatoes, onions, peas,and carrots that will go into the ground the second week of February. In March we will follow with squash, cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, and peppers.

Right now the ground is wet and cold. The last couple of days have brought us 2-3 inches of rain, and freezing weather. It's hard to think of gardening in this weather, but we must plan ahead, and work getting the beds ready when the weather allows. I'm praying for some fifty, maybe even sixty degree, sunny weather to warm the ground and my soul. The ever increasing daylength now will also help the temperatures and my attitude.

I look forward to seeing all classes in the garden this coming week!

2010 A New Beginning

Dear Mr. Painter,
Upon our return from the holidays we have gone out to the garden according to our regular schedule, including learning walks.
In addition to collecting data, we:
-harvested what little broccoli was left from the freeze
-we left some of the broccoli plants to see if they would produce
-composted those plants we deemed non-living from the north island
-collected the loofa (non-producing because of the freeze) from the south fence, peeled the skin, measure length (in/cm),
recovered seeds, created a graph with measurement of length and seed collection, and recorded, using our 5 senses - especially smell - because the teacher kept leaving the room - it was not pleasant, listed/compared our discoveries
-we also had a burial for our class pet (Roxy-the-rat).
We were so excited when you made a guest appearance this week. It was exciting for us to continue to observe and record the broccoli harvest, help dismantle the rest of the loofa fence, and "taste", those that were brave enought, the dehydrated peppers before composting.
Side Note: Mr. Painter & I discussed how the students would be able to actually clear the pepper patch because the root system is hardy. He & I observed the student's fustration, but perseverance when they, as a group, using their feet as a "lever", broke the stem system to gain acess to the root structure. What an amazing lesson. I am proud of my class for their problem-solving skills.
Thank you Mr. Painter for our Garden,
1C
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

Freeze Damage

Walk through the garden and look at your plant and you will probably be really depressed. I am anyway. There is more freeze damage this year than any year since I have been gardening at Stonewall. Everyone is talking about global warming, but what they really mean is climate change. Is our climate changing? Can we predict with certainty what the weather will be like in the months ahead? It's very important for farmers and gardeners to depend on the weather patterns that we normally experience.This allows us to plant the appropriate crops at the right time.

I'm planning for the spring planting. Should we plant peas later this month or wait until early February? Onions now(they are selling them in the nurseries)or wait a while? Will our last freeze be in mid March or later? There are a lot of variables to consider. Gardening is a game of chance.

I look out the window and I see it is raining. I wonder how much we will receive? January is normally a month with little rain. Will this January be normal?
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

Winter Freeze

Well, it's been a little longer than a week since my last post, but I've been experiencing technological lag and a little holiday overstimulation.

The last week of school before the students left for the holidays, we were out in the garden observing plant and animal adaptation to freezing weather and short day length. We had some pretty hard freezes and tender wildflowers and vegetables quickly became limp and brown. Even some of our "adapted" fall vegetables looked like they suffered damage. The freezing weather has continued over the last two weeks and the plants are alive, but not doing so well. Only time will tell if we will get much of a harvest. The weather forecast for the next few days doesn't look too good either. The coldest weather in the last fifteen years is predicted. Hopefully the weather will allow students to continue going out to observe the subtle changes that are occurring in the garden.

This January I will not be with the students, but I will be in the garden when the weather allows doing maintenance work. This is also the time when I will be getting ready for the planting that will start in early February. In the meantime, keep reading here and let me know what you see in the garden. Tell us what is happening with YOUR plant right now by writing about your findings on the Garden blog(ask for help from your teacher about blogging)!

If you want to check out earlier garden blogs, here is the link: http://sites.google.com/site/swjgarden/markblog?offset=30

Look forward to hearing from ALL of you!!
markpainter@stonewallgardens.com