By Jenny Haydon
The Edible School Gardens project (funded by a grant via the Blueskin
Bay Resilience Trust) is slowly
getting underway. Spring occasionally looks likely, but then the snow
forecasts return and all reasonable
thoughts of gardening get put aside until the mud dries out. But
planning, plotting and preparing are
definitely on.
Friday afternoon garden/foodie-based learning sessions are about to
happen at the school - produce from
the garden will be made into something tasty, and seed sowing for
spring plantings of salad vegetables is
on the agenda.
If you have any spoilt hay or anything that could be used as mulch or
could be composted - please could we
have some for our gardens?
Maybe there are folks out there wanting to plant a small veggie garden
but are not sure where to start?
Waitati School will make some space available for a series of short,
sharp workshops if there is enough
interest.
I reckon a topic-based workshop around a simple garden task - like
planting carrots and other root crops running
for about 45 minutes would work really well. Get the demo, do some,
then go home and plant yours. Then
maybe another workshop on growing salad greens, and another on
courgettes and pumpkins, then back
to root crops and how to thin them and basic care.
I can try and help with any garden based problems you may experience
during the growing season and I intend to be about until about the end
of summer.
And it wouldn't cost you anything! Contact Helen at Waitati School to
register your interest.
At Warrington School teachers are considering how best to plan gardens
that beat the problem summer
holidays pose to their crops - when and what best to plant. Activities
in the gardens will be underway come
Spring. If you have a little spare time and would like to help please
contact the school.
