Keeping a School Garden Journal

A School Garden journal is an invaluable tool, not only for the success of your garden but also for the myriad of experiments that can be done in tandem. This is my entry for 10/5/13: Bed 1 (B1) – Fava Beans germinated (broke through the soil), 1-2 days old. Germination took 10 days. B2 – […]

Planning and Planting Your Winter Garden

This is the layout for the Hamilton High School fall/winter 2013 school garden. What’s yours? Bed 1 – Fava Beans We will follow this with corn in the spring. Bed 2 – Lettuce We will broadcast lettuce seeds creating a lettuce “patch” rather than conventional rows. Bed 3 – Beets, Swiss Chard, Spinach, Red Sorrel […]

Harvesting Swiss chard and Kale

Beans are done; corn is done. Squash plants all have powdery mildew and it appears to be spreading to the cucumbers and tomatoes. Welcome to the dog days of summer. Usually during this time we not only harvest the remains of our summer crop but we also look forward to the fall and the new season […]

Guest Gardening Segment on the Marie Osmond Show

Dear School Garden Weekly Members: Yours truly is going to be on TV sharing simple gardening projects for children and parents. I’m doing a guest segment on The Marie Osmond Show, Monday, 7/22, at 12 Noon, on the Hallmark Channel. I’ll post a computer link to the episode once it airs. Thanks, tell your friends. […]

National School Garden Network Brings School Garden Professionals Together

Santa Cruz, CA – At last year’s National Farm to Cafeteria Conference, school garden professionals convened to create a national network for supporting regional school garden programs. Through sharing resources and engaging in dialogue, the newly formed National School Garden Network (NSGN) strives to eliminate redundancy and help facilitate regional-based school garden programs. The Network is calling organizations and […]

Zucchini Pollination – Pop Quiz

The following are squash flowers from a zucchini plant. One is male, the other is female. Can you identify which is which? I’ll give you a hint…when the male pollen fertilizes the female ovary zucchini seeds are created and the ovary swells to carry the seed. Here’s a thought, wouldn’t it be great if “the […]

AVID Gardeners at Mark Twain Middle School Create Masterpiece

Jane Andino, Teacher/Volunteer and UCLA Education Graduate Student had an idea. She envisioned an educational curriculum that would involve students acting as catalysts for a widespread movement: one in which each school and community would create and nurture a communal garden. Her idea was realized at Mark Twain Middle School in Venice, CA with considerable […]