| Picking flowers: If there is time,
allow each child to pick a flower to take back to the classroom. If not,
pick for them. Sunflowers are to be picked only with special permission
from Granny. At the beginning of the year, give your class a refresher
on the proper way to pick a flower. It is important that the children
are taught not to step in the gardens while picking. This can compact
the soil and make it as hard a concrete! You will constantly have
to remind them in the beginning of the year and again in the spring.
Soon, they will remind each other.
We do not use chemicals. It is okay
to eat produce right out of the gardens. A quick wash with a squirt
from a water bottle is all that is needed.
Finances: Granny's Garden School receives
no funding from the schools. The funds to pay staff and buy supplies come
from our fundraisers, (Spring Garden Party, Fall Garden Party, mum sale,
grants and donations of goods and some money. In other words, we raise
our own funds.
Seeds: We receive sufficient donations
of flower and vegetable seeds from seed companies to meet our needs but
none to waste. We found it is not efficient to store packs of seed
for everyone to get their own. They quickly become disorganized. It is
not handy to store open packs and they are frequently lost and never get
back to storage or are discarded. We open the individual packs
and store the seeds in canning jars. There is a label on each jar
indicating how much it will take to fill the needs of one class.
i.e. 3/4 teaspoon of carrot seeds is plenty for a class. Watering: Who waters, when and how? In
general, we will keep the gardens watered. However if you set out plants,
you should plan to water them very well that day. The kids can be
allowed to water using watering cans and small containers (Do not allow
them to water with a hose.) Teach them to water the base of the plants,
where the roots are, not the leaves.
Weeding: It is the responsibility of each
class to keep their garden and surrounding paths, free of weeds.
Weeding the garden teaches students to identify weeds apart from garden
plants. Teach students the importance of weed removal to reduce competition
with garden plants, to prevent growth of new weeds, and to improve garden
appearance. Teach the kids to remove the whole root not just the top of
the weed. If it has not rained within a day or two prior to weeding,
it is strongly recommended that you water before weeding.
How long does the garden program last? We
garden outside from the first day of school to Thanksgiving - depending
on the weather. After frost, we will be cleaning up and preparing
the beds for next year. In the spring, we start by planting an early crop
mid March. This crop will be ready to harvest before the end of school.
If the teacher and coordinator wish, the program can continue through the
winter.
Mulch: It is the responsibility
of your class to keep the paths and area around your garden mulched and
free of weeds and litter. The paths should be heavily mulched (4-6") the
last thing in the fall and the first thing in the spring. Each child
carrying two buckets full will be enough to get the job done.
If the class does a good job of mulching, there will be few weeds.
|
Free
coffee for garden volunteers.