Watching the Seeds Grow

Today was the second trip to the garden for our three classes. Our first class is second graders and our second and third classes are first graders. We started the day by preparing our materials for our activities with the students. We laid out their worksheet with a clipboard, pulled out our soaking beans and prepared our clear bottle and seed experiment. We started by greeting the students and seating them at the table where they picked up a clipboard and crayon. We again went of the rules of the garden, asking them what they thought they would be, which they did very well in remembering from their first visit. Next we split up into three groups and walked over to the garden to show them the small sprouting greens which they planted last week! Next we read the questions of the work sheet and split open a soaked bean. We showed them the three different parts (outer coat, food, and the small plant itself) and asked them to draw and label them on their worksheets. Next we did a seed experiment. We took our pre-prepared clear bottles (an inch of soil a wet paper towel around the sides and middle filled with soil) and placed two bean seeds and two corn seeds between the wet paper towel and the clear bottle. This will show the kids the difference between a monocot and a dicot plant and the way its roots grow.Overall it was a great day and the students seemed to enjoy it and were excited to take their experiments back to their classrooms to take care of and watch grow. After the classes were over we planted four papaya plants that were given to us by the Lakewood's front office ladies. We then watered all the beds and plants along the outside of the garden.

Green emerging in the garden

Today was a truly beautiful day in the garden. We arrived to another fall morning, with blue skies and very little humidity. It was a teacher work day so we finished the planting ourselves without our usual classes of children. Walking around the garden to see how everything was doing we noticed something spectacular, the seeds put in the ground just this week are already poking their heads through the soil! Maybe I have just held onto my childish impulses or it really is a miraculous thing (or a bit of both), but seeing the plants already coming up was so exciting! All the work that has gone into getting the garden ready was well worth seeing how happy the plants are. We finished planting carrots, kale and herbs. We also put in the corn for the three sister's garden and put in the pollinator garden. Wildflowers were planted in a small spare bed to add to the flowers already in the pollinator patch. It was a wonderfully relaxing, breezy and accomplished day. We finished off with a good garden wide soaking and replacement of the entry stone. I haven't yet gotten to work with the kids so I was sort of sad about the teacher work day, however it turned into a really great day overall. Also it felt pretty neat to see all the teachers working around the school as well while we were in the garden. A good old fashioned communal work day. Here are some more pictures from today.

Three Sister's Garden (put corn in today, when corn comes up then we will plant beans and squash)


Pollinator Garden! The flowers were very happy to leave their post outside my window and get into the ground.







Katie found this crazy bright blue worm in the compost pile.

Great Job!

Today was a great day at the Edible Schoolyard! We started by getting the materials prepared for the childrens' arrival. We layed out clipboards with the lesson plans, crayons, watering jugs, seeds, and young tomoto plants. To pass the time, we placed bigger stakes near the watermelon plants to prevent them from being mowed over and we noticed two tiny watermelons starting to grow!

We had the good fortune to have wonderful and attentive classes- the second class was very familiar with the garden since several of them participated and planted seeds last year. We explained the rules of the garden and broke into groups to work on the lesson plans. Next, the kids in my group planted kale seeds, while another group planted young tomato plants, and the third group planted basil seeds. When my group was finished, I showed the kids the pineapple plants and aloe plants and explained to them how aloe helps soothe burns. All of them were very talkative and loved to participate- even a little girl who hadn't been feeling well earlier.

My group finished the lesson with a silly rain dance- although it hasn't rained, it did become noticably more overcast when we finished! It was so uplifting to get hugs and high fives from the kids and the class' teacher instructed them to sing the Great Job song- "G-r-e-a-t-j-o-b". Before we left, we had time to water all the plants and pack up the tools.

Which way is Texas?

Today was my second day of teaching the first and second grade classes that come out to the garden. In addition to planting seeds and going over the handout with my group of kids, I had extra time to teach them about the compass painted on a rock as you enter the garden- which lead to a talk about which way the sun sets and rises, and the general direction of places like Miami, Canada, and Texas.

Spelling (or how to spell words) is at times a task for the first graders, so part of our lesson time in spent collectively sounding out words. Once the handouts have been properly filled out, we were left with about 5 minutes to talk with the children and make up a fitting activity. So far the children have been really nice and cooperative, though there was one student who wanted to eat the seeds instead of plant them...

Nonetheless, the children energy is invigorating (and paradoxically exhausting) and they truly have an interest and excitement in learning what we have to teach them. I personally never had a garden or Earth Science class in my elementary schools, but I certainly see the value in what we're doing, and I wish I had learned in a garden when I was younger. If nothing else, my first garden (that I had help in making under my play scape at roughly the same age) would have fared much better.

After the children left, I made sure to water the plants (butterfly, pineapple, watermelon) and trees around the garden, and pulled up any visible grass shoots in the vegetable beds.

Sowing Seeds

Today was the first day in the garden for yet two more classes, from first and second grade. One of the first things we noticed was how happy the kids were to see us. Although many of them had been out in the garden last year, none of them had ever seen me before, but I got more hugs than I can ever remember getting in one day. They also love attention; even if some of the kids sulk a bit, others compete for your undivided attention to the point where they almost fight each other for it. Since this was my first time ever working with children, it was interesting to try to figure out how to handle situations like that, trying to pay attention to the quieter kids while not actively ignoring the more outgoing ones. I was very glad with both the teachers, who were very involved with the whole process, except for a single foray into the playground, upon the exclamation "Hey! That's one of mine!". One of her students had dropped out of line and decided it was more fun to play, but he soon joined in the activities with everyone else.
We planted cucumber, okra, and beets with our second grade class, and kale, cauliflower, and more okra with the first graders. The lesson for today allowed the students to formulate a hypothesis based on the question: "What do you think will happen when we put the seeds into the ground?" At first, the answers were unanimously "grow!" but with a little probing the kids really started to think about what actually happens to the seeds. We also talked about what it takes for a seed to be able to grow properly, including soil, water, air, etc. Candy was not generally considered necessary. With a little time left over, I caught a little beetle in the bed that we were working on, and we had fun learning about the importance of insects to the environment.

Fresh Feet in the Garden

Today is the first day when students came out to the garden to participate in Green Thumb 101. When we first got there we prepared by grabbing crayons, seeds, and lesson plans. As a large group we introduced the rules of the garden. Most of the students were really enthusiastic to be outside and learning about the garden. The first week's lesson is about science, art and a bit of creative thinking. We asked our students today to hypothesize what their thoughts were on the seeds they were planting and how they would grow. Most responded eagerly with vegetable and flower names. Today's classes planted black eyed peas, cauliflower, collards, eggplant and cucumber! We met with three classes in 25 minute sessions. The black eyed peas were a hit among the classes and every vegetable was met with excitement by our new garden classes! The time together always flies by and before we knew it, the students were watering their seeds in the beds and drawing the plant as they believed it would grow into. Once these drawings were finished the classes left for the day and some in between sedge pulling went on. The garden is finally becoming an edible peace patch.

And That's Just The Beginning!

Although prep week might be over, the students have not made it out into the garden yet, but class commences on Monday! Appreciating the cooler breeze this morning, Alina and Katie got down and dirty tilling the The Three Sisters' Garden, continuing the never ending fight against sedge, picking up cardboard from Eckerd College's recycling center and free mulch from the recycling center across the street from the school, bringing in new hoses, and watering the whole thing down. Although we have dirt under our nails and our muscles are aching, the Edible Peace Patch is almost ready to open its gates up to the students of Lakewood Elementary.

So here are some things you might not have known: The Three Sisters' Garden is actually a Native American agricultural practice. We plant beans, corn, and squash together. This interaction actually eliminates the growth of weeds and the plants all thrive and coincide together. Our Edible Peace Patch Garden has 13 beds, that will include plants such as sweet potatoes, black eyed peas, cucumbers, cauliflower, and many more veggies, a wildflower bed, an aloe garden, and herb spiral, and even pineapples; not to mention loads of other goodies!

Our weeks of preparations are finally up and Monday starts classes in the garden! I know all of us in the garden are looking forward to our very first lessons!

freeing three sister's garden and aloe

Today was another day of exhilarating grass hacking and weeding. More than half of the grass in the three sister's garden was tackled and removed. All that remains to be done is a small section of it, as well as some soil turning. More cardboard and mulch can be placed down between the beds and the three sister's garden.

The aloe patch along the side of the garden was saved today from the lawn mowers. Grass was removed around the aloe and rocks were put down to mark the plants. Similarly, the pineapple and watermelon plants were also weeded and are now very happy. Both plants were watered. The herb garden was supplemented.

Our epic battle with grass is still raging, but today victory was ours. The end is nearing for the grass. The three sister's garden should be finished tomorrow without too much trouble. Almost time for planting!

the end of the grass is insight..

Today was another adventurous day of grass pulling. We have raked up the grass, laid down cardboard and covered the area with a thick layer of mulch. Although the removing of the grass is tiresome our effort is already becoming apparent. No grass shoots have begun growing and the gardens is looking fantastic. We only have around 1/4 of the grass to remove. The beds are turned, weeded and watered on a daily basis.

The preparation of the garden is getting us extremely excited for the kids, who will be joining us next week. We are ecstatic to show them the garden and begin planting. We have begun discussing our first lesson plan which is going to be awesome!

Our hard work is paying off! It is a good feeling to walk out to the garden and see how far we have come. The end of the grass pulling is almost insight! Bring on the children :)

And so it continues...

Though the end is in site- the end of pulling grass that is.

As expected, the group spent their time pulling out the grass and other roots, laying cardboard atop of the seemingly bare ground, and then laying a half inch thick layer of mulch atop the cardboard, and complimenting this all with a shower of water. Gone are the days of a Macgyvered water hose system though, for it seemed we effectively watered the plants (and soon the ones the children will plant...) easily with two connected hoses and water pressure. With the tedious weeding and the ease of access to water, maintence should be relatively easier in the coming months.

An exciting note: if laying the foundation continues on schedule, then class for the children should start next week! The lesson plan for week one has been established, and now all we can do is ponder how we'll hold the children's attention during class. We'll have plenty of time to ponder this as we pull out grass to lay cardboard and mulch...

Grass will never be the same for me

Fall is finally in the air, you could feel that slight chill early this morning! Now maybe this is just in the very sensitive eyes of a Floridian, but it's coming. I look forward to more blue skies and cool breezes out in the garden, compared with the overwhelming heat that has been of late. The battle against the Sedge monster continues. I have never seen such a virulent little plant. We worked really hard today on the left side walkway of the garden. We continued to pull sedge, this time digging deep in the ground to find it's root. Once the area was cleared well enough, we laid down more cardboard and mulch. It seems like the battle against grass will never end and I find it pretty funny that people spend so much time, money and pesticides getting their lawns just perfect. All we have to do is leave for a night and already more has grown! I'm excited for the kids to come out finally the week after next. Then seeds will finally get in the ground and plants starting to grow! I know the garden will look beautiful when that happens. For now, the set-up work continues!

Fighting more sedge today...

Today we uprooted more of that pesky sedge and grass with the hoe, rakes and our hands and laid down cardboard as we moved along. One of our team members quickly covered the cardboard collage with mulch, making the Garden look more and more fertile every passing minute. The half circle area in the back of the garden is the next grassy place to tackle. In a few months, we hope to have corn growing in that part of the garden. We ended work today around 11:30- just when the Florida sun was really starting to beat down on us.


On a personal note, today my first day at the Garden! Working with my hands and getting dirt under my nails was therapeutic after long days inside classrooms and evenings studying. With each shift a little more work gets done- every day there'll be less green sedge, more mulch laid down, and soon beautiful flowers will bloom and the veggies will be ready to harvest. And after the prep work is done, the kids will come out and lively up the garden so much!

A Word on Sedge

Sedge is perhaps one of our biggest enemies at the Lakewood Edible Peace Patch. Florida plants seem to have a feisty streak that other plants don't quite have. The adaptation that sedge has astounds me. The root ball is about a foot from the surface of the soil. That root ball then shoots off string like roots towards the surface and grows leaf structures in several different locations. So, if a fellow gardener were to just pull the said leaf structures, the plant still survives. The only way to ensure the removal of the plant is to get at that root ball. This means following down the string sized root to the ball which can be trying and definitely takes quite awhile. It's hard to convey to my fellow gardeners the importance of getting this rootball out. There is still so much to be done in the garden that this project seems like a low priority. In reality if we get the complete root structure out now then we'll have so much less work this semester. Hopefully, I'll be able to convince my classmates that this is what needs to happen!

Other than the sedge, we are working diligently to rake

up all the grass, lay cardboard, and put down mulch. We still have a long ways to go, but it's early in the week so I believe we can finish and be prepared for the students next week!

Monday September 27th

Today was another work day. It was a gorgeous day out and the morning started with the sun shinning. Katie, Alyssa and myself all meet over at lakewood around 830am. We checked the log book to see what had been done on the last shift and what they thought should be done next. We started by pulling weeds around the beds again. We laid cardboard and mulch along the paths that were finished. The three of us made quite a bit of progress today. Katie pulled up the compass rock at the front of the garden and weeded around it and relaid it with mulch around it. You can now see which direction is North and South. We also harvested the sweet potatoes in the last left garden. We saved the smaller ones to replant later on. Today was a great day and we are on the short road to planting soon!

Going Strong!

Today was a day of great progress, determination, sweat, and dirty hands, but the garden is certainly coming together! We cleaned out the shed, got ourselves organized, and took inventory of what we have in stock. Seperating all of the tools, going through last years crates, and cleaning up the shelves was a tedious task, but well worth it. Having a clean shed will enable us to grab what we need when we need it.

We next moved on to tackle the grass and weeds that seem to have invaded our patch this summer. Using steel rakes, bare hands, and a wheelbarrow the team cleared the main drag of the garden, laid down cardboard, and mulched nearly half of the garden. We then took all of our weeds and trimmings and piled them up into our compost mound.

Walking through the school hallway on our way to the water fountain for a quick, but much needed, break from the sun, it was amusing to hear the students point out how we were covered head to foot in dirt. I know all of us can not wait to see what the garden has instore for everyone. Our final touch today was replanting our lovely pineapple plants that seemed to have turned over on us.

Although all of this prep work seems like a heavy load, it will all be worth it when the children see what we have to teach them and we can see what they too have to teach us!

Spring(Fall) Cleaning...

Well, this morning started off with a bit of a scavenger hunt. We've been making frequent use of the Eckerd recycling truck this week which is used communally on campus by different organizations. With the frequent use of the truck and it's lack of a true home, one never really knows where the truck might be. Usually it's parked near Beta Complex or in the Old Library Loop, but today was not the norm. Long story short, we checked Beta, old library loop, the Nu/Omega parking lot, and the Beta parking lot again with no avail. As a last ditch effort we headed to the Forrer parking lot, and thank goodness our forest green and badly battered friend was there! We filled the truck with cardboard from the mailroom and the on campus recycling center and headed out to Lakewood.

There is so much left to be done before the garden is in working condition. We need to rake up all the grass that flourished over the summer between the beds, turn the 3 sisters' bed with manure, lay down cardboard and new mulch, replant the pineapple plant that were knocked over this summer, reorganize the shed and mix in the new dirt from the compost into all of the beds to name a few item off the endless checklist. Needless to say, even as a veteran to the garden this all seems daunting. Yet, we grabbed another load of mulch and staked the watermelon before I left. Tommy and Vivian continued after I left since I unfortunately have class at 10 am.

Small steps I keep telling myself. Each shift will progress on the list and it will dwindle. We will have a gorgeous garden in no time ready to accept the classes that will prosper from the information and experiences it can provide.

PS I apologize for the lack of pictures, I've been struggling to upload them for 30 minutes now, and I believe technology is winning this battle. I'll see if I can add them in tomorrow!

Mulching Again

Four of us went out again today, to continue getting the garden in order. We still had quite a bit of cardboard from yesterday, so two of us went on mulch-collecting duty, and the rest of us continued weeding the plots. Most of the beds were relatively low on weeds, so this task was easy enough. Yesterday's horse manure was mixed into the beds, but we should add some more next time we go out, because there is a bunch of unused manure left over.
We brought in two more truckloads of mulch. and made good progress covering the paths with cardboard and mulch. On the way back, the two of us in the back of the pickup had quite the zen experience, as we were made one with the mulch. All in all, a lot of work got done, but a lot more remains...

Another Day of Prep Work

Today started early with five students. We drove over to our on campus recycling center to collect cardboard to line the bed of the truck as well as the walk ways in the garden. We then traveled again to the Saddle up stable to load another truck full of manure. Though smelly and slightly wet we managed to load it quickly and return to Lakewood. Once the manure was unloaded we then made the quick trip over to the recycling center near the elementary where we could pick up free maulch. We loaded and unloaded two truck fulls of maulch, laying the cardboard down first we maulched around the first garden bed to give an example to tomorrows group of students. At this pace we should have all the prep work done by the end of the week!

Lakewood Begins!

Today was the first step toward our Edible Peace Patch! In the morning a few students got together to head up to Saddle Up stables to collect some really important manure for the garden! It was a tedious and tiring task that was to say the least, the poop. The unloading was great and it really brought out some new ideas for the garden once back to see how much work we have to do. Weeding and mowing the grassy areas around the garden are in dire need. Some serious housecleaning will be in order this semester to pull the garden back to work.

Into the Street 2010

Every Autumn Term at Eckerd College, freshman show up three weeks early to participate in the Autumn Term, a three week short semester designed to introduce them to the rigors of college life and give them some time to adjust to the campus before the upper classmen arrive. One of the traditions of Autumn Term is a large scale service event called Into the Street, where almost 300 freshmen spend the afternoon providing help to an organization in St. Petersburg that is in need of labor. As you can see from some of these photographs and as I will affirm if you have never seen the Edible Peace Patch before, things are looking grassy and sedgy. We needed some help. We were able to hold the sedge at bay during the school year because we had many hands on the garden every day. No one has been to the garden since July and so almost two months and lots of rain and lots of things grow. We had covered the beds back in July with a 6 mil black plastic to try to minimize washout of our soils and to cook them a little bit to kill nematodes. We decided that we would work in pairs and two people would help weed out the watermelon plants that survived the summer heat, but are fighting for ground space against other fast growing weeds. Another two went to town on the three sister's garden, beginning the long back-breaking work of turning the soil. We'll do that twice more, once with horse manure, before we plant it. One student pruned the crape myrtle trees, very ncely, I'd say, and another helped me move the compost pile and begin spreading the new soil we made. One small bit of plant miracle took place. Last year during Into the Street, students had been pulling weed along the fence line and they accidentally pulled a Firebush that we had planted in honor of Science Coordinator Margaret McCabe. We stuck it back in the ground but all school year last year it just stood there like a dead hulk. No sign of life. When we returned to the garden with this year's group, the whole bush had resurrected. It is flourishing as if it never felt a thing. We consider it a good sign for the new year. Another good sign is the continued interest in the garden by Eckerd students and the continued interest in the garden by the teachers and administrators at Lakewood Elementary. One other promising sign, which you can see in a couple of the photographs, is the huge pile of new soil that we built out of the organic matter of last years plants. My eternal gratitude to the seven students who put in some very very hot hours under the steamy Florida sun to help us move closer to being ready for planting. It was a great day in the gaden and we look forward to another flourishing year. We hope you can join us.

The Edible Peace Patch 2010-2011 will officially begin in a few weeks. Watch out for new posts!