Stonewall Work Day (2-27-10)

Everyone questioned on Friday, due to the day's bleak mist and temperature, whether or not we would have a garden workday on Saturday. Well the forecast prediction proved correct, it was a blessed day. Around ten or so the adventurous types appeared in the garden. With garden clippers in hand the young, the getting-up-there, and the we-are-now-there put our backs into clearing the pathways and wild scape. Within hours the garden made it's transformation from a seemingly defeated field, after a snowy winter, into a garden that already holds surprises for the spring.
One aspect of the garden that many should be aware of are the everyday ongoings of nature. Mrs. Painter entered the garden with a large pickle jar in hand. A Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly had just emerged from the pupa inside her classroom. She passed the jar along to several Stonewall student volunteers to release into the garden. What a memorable experience. It proves that nature proceeds daily and those that are present will reap the rewards.
Thanks must go out to: Stonewall Garden's president Kate Cromwell, her mother visiting from Chicago, and her Stonewall Stars: Jesse, Nick, Carolyn, & Louie; Jonathan Vinson; Diana Hooper, 3rd grader Sophie & kinder. Sam; Wendy Boots and 1st grader Kiley & family; Aaron Caughran, 4th grader Elle & 1st grader Finely; Kristina Haggard & 1st grader Madisen; Baily Apodaca-Moore, Sean Kilpatrick, & Briggs Uskovich.
It's been said it takes a village, well in this case it takes a Stonewall Garden Family!
Barbara Uskovich
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

Post Revival

I feel like I am on a seesaw (does anyone remember them?). One day I'm up, the next day I'm down. This has been that kind of week. Monday it was too cold to go out, although the early morning fourth graders did go out and help me weed out some winter grasses in the pathways. The day grew colder as the wind picked up so we stayed inside and explored the micro world with our new hand held,computer connected microscope(thanks P.T.A.). We explored skin, hair, fabrics, and insect body parts. Wow, 60 year old skin sure looks different than 9 year old skin!

On Tuesday, Mrs. Uskovichs' class got out in the garden and found a very interesting plant called "bedstraw". It is very tender and the stems break easily. Throw a stem at someone and it sticks to them. The stems and leaves are covered with tiny barbs that grab and hold on to porous surfaces, especially clothes. the seeds of this plant are also covered with these tiny barbs or hooks that help in dispersal. Neat adaptation!

Later in the week we got out into the garden and examined the potatoes we had earlier tucked into the soil. To my surprise, some of the Red LaSoda potatoes were beginning to put out roots. This, even though the ground temperatures remained right around 40 degrees F. The Yukon Gold spuds showed no signs of growth. The two varieties showing different adaptations to ground temperature.

We put some 1015Y onions in the ground, in beds and pots that did not have a fall crop. On Thursday the fifth graders came out and we sifted compost, applying the fine compost to the peas we planted last week. They have not germinated yet. But with rain predicted for this weekend, I expect to see them popping up soon.
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

1C Took the Challenge

Dear Mr. Painter,
We read your last journal entry and we were doubtful about any insect activity in the garden. So we decided to see if you were correct. We went out with the sole purpose of disproving insect activity. Guess what! You were correct again. We identified several lady beetles. The one that intrigued us the most was the Twice Stabbed lady beetles because they were strictly on the crepe myrtles??? In fact Mrs. Uskovich, with the help of Dallas, collected over 20 one day this week after school. We then had the opportunity to view them under our new computer microscope, thank you Stonewall PTA, and we each illustrated their designs. We very briefly saw your favorite, the Cucumber beetle, which quickly descended to the lower stems. In all, not counting the Twice Stabbed lady beetles, we observed 3 other lady beetles. Thank you for informing the classes as to which tasks need to be conducted in the outdoor lab.
1C
(Mr. Painter, It is true that if the students are given advanced insight as to what is occurring in the garden, they are the ultimate explorers. Mrs. U.)
P.S. Yes, we released all of the Twice Stabbed lady beetles in the garden after completing our detailed illustrations.
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

Revival

Today was the most wonderful day of the year. Air temperatures were in the low fifties, the skies were clear, and the wind was slight. We were able to go into the garden and harvest a few heads of cabbage. They were small and freeze damaged, but something to take home, a small success.

We pulled the plants up, left them upside down so the roots would dry out and die. They will be moved to the compost pile to transform with the help of decomposers into nutrients for later crops. In nature the dead still play a role. There is no waste.

We raked back the mulch to expose the soil to the rays of the sun. At this time of the year we want the soil to warm and dry slightly in the top couple of inches. In a few days, they will be at the right moisture level and temperature for optimal growth of cool season vegetables. The soil needs to warm into the fifties. Right now the soil is 38 degrees F. and wet. When we can dig into the soil without it sticking to our shovels, the soil can be cultivated.

We did plant some potatoes, just barely scratching the ground placing the potatoes in very shallow holes covered with a little soil and partially decomposed wood chips. When the temperature is right they will sprout, and we are in business. We are going to test whether we will get better production out of potatoes planted whole or when we just plant "eyes" cut from the whole potato.

Onion "slips" will be going in the ground this week also. They have been patiently waiting in the tool shed for their grand entrance. I think their time is now! They will be placed in shallow trenches 4-6 inches apart covered with fine soil and compost. They need a little soil to hold them upright and a thin layer of compost to get them off on a good start.

The warm temperatures brought out other life in the garden. We observed several lady beetles, a few cabbage white butterfles, and at least one leaffooted bug, all this activity just a couple of days after record snowfall. I know how those insects felt!
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

Weather and The Garden

Yesterday around noon I went to the garden with Mrs. Uskovich to see how the record 12 inches of snowfall had affected the plants at school. All around my neighborhood near Tietze park trees were broken, limbs laying in yards and in the streets. Evergreen trees seemed to fair the worst having leaves for the snow to cling to. I feared the cedars at school would be damaged.

When we pulled into the parking lot, there they were, limbs broken and lying on the ground. I don't know if we will be able to save them. What a loss. In the garden the desert willow was also damaged badly. The burr oaks, red oaks, and the Mexican plum were not hurt. The beds with cabbage and broccoli were totally covered with snow, small mounds of snow where the plants were. The snow probably didn't hurt them, and in fact acted as insulation against much colder air.

This has been the coldest, wettest winter I can remember since I've been at Stonewall. Is this a sign of "global warming" or climate change? Or are we experiencing a normal cycle of warm to cold, wet to dry seasons? Where do we look for the answers?

Monday, the weather was too bad to go outside, so we watched a video clip having to do with the retreating of glaciers around the world. Climate scientists look to glaciers for answers concerning climate change. These scientists can drill into the glaciers and take out core samples just as do people who study trees. These core samples reveal seasonal layers of snowfall that have packed into ice. The layers can be analysised for carbon dioxide levels going back hundreds of thousands of years. High levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are associated with high atmospheric temperatures and high sea levels. Since the start of the industrial revolution and the use of fossil fuels for energy, carbon dioxide levels have risen far above normal historic highs. This, they say has led to higher atmospheric temperatues on average around the world, enough to cause the glaciers to melt and retreat far faster than normal.

What does this have to do with the garden at Stonewall? We teach the students that weather is one of the non-living parts of the environmental system we are a part of. Within this system are seasonal weather patterns we depend on to tell us what and when to plant, based on expected rainfall and temperture. Our whole civilization depends on agriculture based on predictable weather patterns. To act now and in the future, we must know these patterns and be able to predict them within a given range. Our success growing here at Stonewall in the past has been based on familiar temperature and rainfall patterns.

The question that we should all be asking is, "Are weather patterns changing, and if so, is our behavior affecting these changes?"

Because of the weather, we stayed inside this week and observed the world of compost. Students using hand lenses and microscopes examined the many creatures that we depend on to turn the dead into food for the living. Ask your child what they observed.
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

Incredible Indoor Lab Explorations!!!

Dear Mr. Painter,
The weather was not the best for outdoor observations. 1C pleaded for Mr. Painter to stay this week and revisit a previous indoor experiment to enrich our understanding of what beneficial "critters" there are beneath our feet and their importance.
Mr. Painter went to the compost pile and "dug" up soil samples for the students to explore with all 5 senses. (Parents, I must interject, I wish I had a digital voice recording of the pure excitement that was resounding in the lab. I am sorry that others were not there to witness the joy the students experienced of digging in the earth and their lack of fear for nature. A Perk of teaching!)
The students first did a survey of their row in the north island and lack of production. Kaden was the first to notice frozen dew/precipitation on the leaves. We then proceeded into the the science lab. Tubs of compost, hand lenses, and microscopes were already in place on each table. Prior classroom discussions occurred before we entered the lab for comprehension purposes. Procedures for lab explorations were reviewed and then the class was allowed to enjoy free observations.
1C recorded the following:
smells: beef, oregano, barb-be-que sauce, ketchup, and vinegar;
compost critters: earthworms, worms, white worms, centipedes, grubs, maggots, snail shells, sow bugs, mites, and various organic waste;
new vocabulary: decompose, humus, digest, & aerate;
purpose statement: The critters break down material to provide nutrients for plants;
conclusion: Every animal, even those we do not see, are beneficial to humans, earth, and the web/cycle;
new understandings: life responds to temperature!
The class returned to the classroom to record and illustrate their experience.
A question was posed to the students: What would it be like to be a worm in a compost pile?
Responses included:
I am nature and nature is beautiful, there is nothing to be sad about, I have friends. (Caroline)
If I were a worm I would eat as much as I weigh. (Cooper) (accurate)
It would be very cool because I would meet /see critters that I had never seen before. (Maya)
It would be a little scary at first, but then I would get use to it and have fun. (Lily)
It would be great to be a worm so I can help the garden community. (Zachary)
Thank you Mr. Painter for you expertise and time,
XXX 1C
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

Preparing For Spring- February 6, 2010

This past week in the garden students began pruning dead leaves from some of the healthier plants, and pulled out the ones that were obviously dead or too small to possibly produce anytime soon. We did some weeding,but the ground is so wet that we only pulled those that came out easily. You don't want to dig in the ground if it is too wet, as that destroys healthy soil structure.

1st and 2nd grade classes planted pepper and tomato seeds in small pots inside. They also put some onion slips (small green onions) in containers to get them growing. We'll later transplant them into the garden beds. Once again, the ground is really too wet to start putting them into it.

Potatoes will be started next week by laying them into a couple of beds not currently occupied. They will be covered with dark composted wood chips and allowed to sprout. The students will monitor them weekly to observe the new roots and stems starting at the "eyes". Later they will be moved into the class beds.

Friday was a dream day. Bright sun and relatively warm weather (high of 60) had all of us in high spirits. We did more weeding and pruning as we observed the plants that were dead and the ones that were coming back already. Very little animal life was observed on plants this week. Students in Mrs. Batista's class found cabbage white larva on some of their red cabbage plants (they are very hardy and survived the frezzing weather). Aphids were found on the bottoms of cabbage leaves and a couple of sluggish lady beetles were found in the mulch. When the weather warms a bit they will get after those aphids.

The cold and wet is predicted to return Monday, but warm weather is around the corner, I hope! Just like molecules in all matter, animals including us, will become more active in the garden as the temperature rises.
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)