The first sunflower finally formed this week, a sign that shows how fast time has gone by. Everything is past sprouting and there is an influx of vegetables and other plants blooming at very high rates. There were no children this week, so we had a lot if time to take care of weeding and maintenance for the patch. The past few weeks have been excitingly fast, and the students are not only ecstatic about the growing plants, but are also very curious about them. The more they are able to see, the more curious they become.

Propping up and providing support

Today was a successful Saturday workday.  The gardens are growing along very nicely.  

It is amazing to visit a garden after not being there for a week and see how it has grown.  It almost seems as if they are growing all on their own.

The truth is these gardens and vegetables are growing with all the efforts that are put into them through our students and volunteers.  This is why there is continued noticeable growth every time we revisit each garden.

The tomatoes and bean plants at Sanderlin were all growing substantially, but not in the best direction.  The bean plants and tomatoes all needed a little effort to get them propped up and supported to grow in the right direction.

Our great team of volunteers at Sanderlin today propped up all the plants and used bamboo to give them support.   It took some work and patience to untangle all of the plants leaves, stems and stalks.  Once this was done though the plants were all headed in the right direction, ready to grow upwardly and produce yields.

Just like our vegetables the kids all need a little prop up and support.  These gardens provide that prop up and support for the kids and just like untangling the plants it takes some work and patience.  It may not be obvious, but by tying those plants close to a strong a bamboo stick that can guide and support their growth, they are doing the same for the kids.

Thank you to all of our volunteers for propping them up, guiding them with a little support in the right direction so that they can grow and progress.   

If you did not make it out to this Saturdays workday come out and join us on December 14th  at 8:00 A.M. at Campbell Park Elementary School.

Aleta Kane
Garden Program Coordinator

Leaf printing and plant identification

November 6,2013

It's a lovely fall day at the garden plenty of sun and a bit windy.. The plants are growing exceptionally well and the student are quite excited to see the flowers and vegetables  they planted grow.  The past few weeks  were full of lessons that consisted  of  the type of soil the plants needed and how it is different from regular soil, i.e. composting , coffee grounds, ect. We also discussed the different parts of the plant, and the hydrological cycle among other things.
This week we took the kids out to learn a little about native and exotic plants. Although some of them were confused and could not interpret the meaning of  native and exotic species, they did a good job describing the characteristics the plants consisted of (this was mainly the 3-5 yr olds).
We finished the lesson by having them collect some of  the different plant leaves and  colored them for a leaf print. They were very excited and  were enthusiastic about their drawings. They started to identify the differences  between the different leaves.

By,
Elizabeth and Caroline