Seedling Scavenger Hunt

Last week, Ty from Urban Nutrition Initiative came by to plant some seeding transplants with our 5th grade students.  The 7th grade got the info, and headed outside to do some investigating.

At first glance, the little guys were hard to detect.  Straw is keeping them warm through the last of the cold nights.  It looks like we have some strawberries started above.

Red Russian Kale, one of my favorites!

This kale is the same as we have started in our classroom, only double the size!

 Though cabbage is easy to grow from seed, these cabbage transplants are already sturdy and ready for planting.  With the long, cold winter, we need a little jump start!

Ty is also going to bring back some wood chips to reinforce our pathways.  Next month, we'll be planting some of the tomato and pepper seedings we have growing inside!

...and the RESULTS!!

Our soil samples settled over the weekend.  When we came in on Monday, we were able to measure the visible layers of sand, silt, and clay.

If you look closely, you can see the thin layer of clay resting on top of the lighter-colored sand and silt.

Using a simple formula, we were able to calculate the percentages of sand, silt, and clay in our garden.

We used this fantastic 3-axis graph, called a soil texture triangle, to determine our soil type.

We got. . . (drumroll). . . LOAM!

 Loamy soil is ideal for growing vegetables.  In general, it contains more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, it has better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and it's easier to till than clayey soils.  Jackpot!

Soil Testing

Today we collected soil samples from our garden.  We're testing our soil texture to be sure we will be growing some amazing crops!

 After watching the documentary "Dirt: The Movie!," some students felt compelled to smell our soil.  "It smells like grass," says one student.  She may or may not have tasted the dirt as well (don't try this at home).

 Take a good whiff!  "Smells like dirt."  True.

 We scooped up soil from all of our garden plots.  This is Plot C.  See the HUGE rosemary bush in the background?  It will come back to life soon enough.

Using a trowel to take a sample from Plot B, she's being sure to eliminate any rocks, twigs, and weeds from her sample ;)

 Dirt.  Soil.  "The skin of the Earth."

 Mr. Sam mixed up some detergent and water.  The soap acts as a dispersant to help separate the soil particles.  We added about 3 tablespoons.

  Tree hugger!

 After filling the jars the rest of the way with water, we had to shake things up!  I think there is a limit to how much shaking you should do, however.  Apparently, these glass jars ARE breakable...

The samples are resting in our science center.  We'll check them out Monday and post our results!

Life Indoors

Our Science Center Comes to Life!

Broccoli, planted by the kindergarteners.

Rainbow Swiss Chard

Little Baby Kale Plant

Lettuce!

We got worms.  Our new class pets are red worms - thousands of them!  Our worms decompose our own food scraps and create nutrient-rich "vermicopost" (aka worm poop).  It's SOO good for our plants!

Sowing the Seeds

We're itching to get planting, but the winter is draaaaggggingggg on.  We bide our time with Fruit and Veggie Jeopardy (thanks Mr. Sam)!

Tomatoes are actually a fruit!  Did YOU know?

The boys are SERIOUS about this game!

The girls give them a run for their money, but the BOYS end up taking the win!

We also explore seed catalogs and decide what we want to grow.

Thoughtfully writing down her favorites. . .

The girls like the colorful varieties.

FINALLY we can start working the soil and planting some early SUGAR SNAP PEAS!!

Getting the beds ready for planting.

Rake the soil smooth…

The Crew.

The seeds.

We cover the seeds that the kindergardeners will water later in the afternoon.  It's a group effort in our School Garden!

Winter

Winter in the Garden

Snow covers the ground through the winter...

 and into the spring!

But we stay busy while we wait for the ground to thaw.

They boys check out some responses to "What We Know" and "What We Want to Know" about farming and the food system.

 Good questions!  Hopefully, we will have answers soon…

The following week, we braved the cold and took some measurements.

 Here's Mr. Daniel supervising the surveyors.

 Nice team work, boys.

 The Blue Team records their measurements.

The girls measure the perimeter of the bed.  Back in the classroom, we will determine how many transplants we will need based on space requirements.