“Planting a Rainbow”

“A new word is like a fresh seed sown on the ground of the discussion.”


-Ludwig Wittgenstein

It is amazing what a rainy weekend can do. Not only did it make our Monday morning watering less work, it also seemed to encourage growth in our beds. The tomato plant has a new ladder that is used for stability. The tomato plant appears to be beginning to climb up the ladder.

Other improvements are visible with the Okra as well as the recently planted radishes that were planted about two weeks ago. The radishes seemed to have blossomed in such a short time span. Before we know it, they will be ready for harvesting. I am looking forward to harvesting the radishes with the children because they have been part of the process in watching the radishes grow into what they are today. I think the kids will also be surprised that the radishes grow under the soil and that they are more than just the tops that they can see at the surface.

I was also excited to see that the cucumbers and squash that we planted in hills last Thursday were sprouting up. The red ants seem to have recovered their home in this bed. We are hoping they will relocate to a new area.

The lesson plan that we had with the kids today was called, “Planting a Rainbow”. We were supposed to read a children’s picture book that uses colorful illustrations to describe what seeds need to grow. Unfortunately, the class came out to the garden late so we only had time to do our second part of the lesson.

We told the children to break up into the small groups they were in last week. I had a group of three girls that were well behaved and attentive. I asked them what were some things that seeds need to grow and they responded with the correct answers “soil, water, and sun”. Then our next task was to have them plant bean seeds. I gave them each a job. One kid was assigned to give our lima bean seeds soil, another kid was assigned to plant the seed in the soil and the third kid was in charge of watering the seed that was in the soil. Once they each participated in planting the seeds, I asked the girls what they predicted the seeds would look like in two weeks. In the small amount of time we had left, I had the girls draw their predictions on a piece of paper.

Although we only had a little time to work with the kids today, it was nice to have them experience planting a seed. I predict that the kids are going to grow from learning at the Edible Peace Patch.

Julia Melton