Too Many Pumpkins!

What a bountiful and beautiful autumn it has been! The past two Novembers, I've collected as many leftover or abandoned pumpkins as I could and then I lugged them to school and cracked them open in a dark patch of soil behind the garden shed. So far, so good -- in the spring they've sprouted into healthy, prolific pumpkin patches with enough squash and pumpkins for the students to harvest and use in classroom projects for a few fun weeks in the fall. Students in all my classes love pumpkin picking, weighing and measuring their pumpkins, making guesses about the number of seeds inside & then cutting into their pumpkins to collect the slimy seeds. No-one can resist a roasted pumpkin seed snack or other pumpkin treats, either!

As always, books are a big part of our garden lessons. A few of our favorite pumpkin books include the adorable Too Many Pumpkins, by Linda White, as well as the informative Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons, and the short & sweet Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington.

Continue on to see photos of some of our pumpkin & squash adventures!

Strong Start!

We're two weeks into the school year & our garden is almost ready for a transition from summer to fall. This year even more students get the opportunity to learn in the garden each week -- 300 students vs 85 last year! Here's what we've been up to at the (strong!) start to the school year:

Garden Library -- with an even greater focus on reading & literacy throughout our school, students now get to enjoy reading books from our budding garden library. Students find cozy, favorite spots in the green dome, teepee, tunnels and under trees to read their chosen books.

For our first kindergarten lessons, we are focusing on all the colors in the garden. The students toured the garden, ready with their 'cameras' (imaginary!) to snap pictures of all the colors they wanted to remember. On our next visit to the garden, we read the book Mary Wore Her Red Dress, originally a folksong, adapted by Merle Peek. Students helped to add new, personalized verses -- like this one: "Benjamin saw a orange pumpkin, orange pumpkin, orange pumpkin. Benjamin saw an orange pumpkin in the garden." Kindergarteners also went on a color scavenger hunt and shared their favorite findings with each other. We've also been enjoying fresh apples from our garden trees... and we used some of the wormy ones to print with!

Looking for colors in the garden. And apple prints!

In first and second grade we read The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree, by Gail Gibbons, and noticed the changes in Arnold's tree throughout the year. Then we toured the garden to see what changes we noticed since last school year. Students picked and ate apples, too!

There's more! First, Second & Third graders planted radish seeds. Students who returned to the garden this week were excited to see a big change from last week: the radish seeds have already sprouted! We started our class off with the book Up, Down and Around, by Katherine Ayres. Students noticed how different plants grow, and talked about the plant parts that we eat. The part of the radish that we eat will develop under the ground... just like the potatoes that first graders planted this week, too! We've been busy!!

Summer garden bounty

School starts next week & the garden is ready! Starting a bit earlier than other schools gives us a chance to use more of our summer bounty. During the 5-week summer vacation we donated over 100 pounds of fresh garden produce to Ecumenical Hunger Program, right down the street from our school. Summer staff at the school enjoyed quite a bit of squash and tomatoes, too!

Here's a peek at what's growing in the garden this summer:

These lovely, petite seedless green grapes pretty much take care of themselves. They've been here at least 8 years! 

Quince! We'll be making membrillo and poached quince with these guys. 

I love growing a 'Three Sisters Garden' each summer -- winter squash, corn and climbing beans. The are great companion plants. This year I tried Cherokee Trail of Tears bean (on the left) and strawberry popcorn (on the right). Pumpkins, butternut squash and Red Kuri squash climbed on the ground beneath them. 

These beautiful Scarlet Runner beans were wonderful on our garden tunnel (see below) & trellises. Hummingbirds love the bright red flowers. I let these beans dry so the kids can harvest the vibrant beans & plant them in the spring. 

One of our fun garden tunnels. This year scarlet runner beans, morning glories, cucumbers and Red Kuri squash covered it with color. 

A rainbow of produce ready to be donated. Pictured from top to bottom: three types of summer squash, red kuru squash, Cherokee Purple tomatoes, apples, plums, Bearss limes, cucumbers. 

More produce to donate. Summer squash started to get a little out of hand! 

End of School Garden Round-Up

There are just seven more school days left of this school year! It is hard to believe. I love that the garden provides an opportunity to mark time by seeing the plants, fruits & vegetables grow. The past few weeks have been full of harvesting produce that has been growing throughout this year.

Kindergarteners picked onions and garlic that they planted last October -- and they have been enjoying strawberries that we planted in January!

Our garden tunnel is covered with baby pumpkins and ruby-colored bean flowers! Zucchinis are already producing abundantly. The plum tree is dropping sweet, purple plums. It's a pretty exciting & lovely time.

Check out some of the things students have been enjoying:

Garden Greens

During the winter and spring we still enjoy the garden's bounty -- even if our harvesting selection is a bit more limited. Greens are big winter and spring veggies, though... and believe it or not, kids love them! By the time they've grown, picked and cooked the greens themselves, even kids who swear they don't like greens, are open to trying them. And many come back for seconds!

Check out the greens we've been enjoying in our garden!

Fifth graders harvest romaine and red sail lettuce.

Completed salad: garden lettuces, radishes & calendula flowers plus sliced apples & sunflower seeds -- beautiful and delicious!

Kindergarteners wash Swiss Chard and kale in our new garden sinks!

Preparing greens for a stir fry is easy for kinder -- no knives needed, just tearing!

Left: A small chef enjoying sautéed greens with teriyaki sauce & brown rice. Right: A very healthy Swiss Chard plant. 

Soil Investigators

This past week, kindergarteners explored one of our garden's most valuable resources -- the soil! We asked the questions 'What is soil?' and 'What is soil made of?' 

To start our investigation, students gathered samples of soil from the garden and then they worked in teams to look at it closely and take it apart. They separated out as many different ingredients as they could see, using tweezers and magnifying lenses and placing their soil findings in egg cartons.

Students looked at soil in a new way, and practiced using tools: shovels, tweezers and magnifying lenses.

Seeds & Seedlings

Over the last couple months, kindergarten students have been saving seeds, planting seeds, caring for seedlings, preparing painted terra cotta pots, and planting seedlings in the garden!

They started last fall by shelling beautiful dried Scarlet Runner Beans that grew in our school garden. Late this winter, they planted the beans in plastic pots in the greenhouse. In February and March, they painted their own terra cotta pots in anticipation of bringing their bean seedlings home. Finally, right before spring break, they got a chance to take a look at their seedlings' roots and carefully transplant them into their own personalized pots. They even planted some of the seedlings in our school garden! We're looking forward to them growing up over the garden tunnel!

Scarlet runner beans -- shelled, then sprouting

Painting terra cotta pots!

Potting the bean seedlings into their hand-painted pots.

Taking their seedlings home!

Planting bean seedlings around one of the garden tunnels! These beans like to climb things -- the tunnel will be perfect!

Taking a look at the bean seedling's roots; planting more seedlings. 

EPACS Seedling Sale

Now's the time to plant your summer garden!! If you live nearby, it's also the time to get organic, heirloom seedlings, lovingly planted and raised by EPACS students, staff & volunteers! Click on the seedling variety to learn more about each type of plant. 

$5 for each 4” pot & 6-pack, $3 for each or 2 for $5 for 3" pots (Morning Glories)

Contact EPACS garden manager, Eron Truran, to order and arrange pick up at EPACS:

Eron.Truran@aspirepublicschools.org

Tomatoes, sold in 4” pots, $5 each

Cherokee Purple

San Marzano

Brandywine

Winter Squash, sold in 4” pots, $5 each

Golden Delicious

Gold Acorn

Butternut

Baby Blue Hubbard

Cucumbers, sold in 4” pots, $5 each

Beit Alpha (a Mediterranean variety)

Herbs, sold in 4” pots, $5 each

Thai Basil

Flowers, sold individually in 3” pots, $3 each or 2 for $5

Morning Glory

Corn, sold in packs of 6, $5 each

Strawberry Popcorn

Fairy Gardens!

Last week kindergarteners and first graders worked together to create magical fairy houses in the garden. Fairy house building has been hands-down the most popular garden activity in my classes. Students use their class time to brainstorm and build a tiny home for fairies or other tiny creatures in the garden. They use their imaginations, team work, engineering skills, & communication skills while collecting natural objects, designing and building these elaborate and beautiful works of architectural marvel. There are always many students who want to work much longer than the 45 minute or hour-long class. They LOVE exploring the garden, finding soft leaves and sparkly rocks, beautiful flowers, spiky twigs and bark. And they have the most elaborate descriptions of arched entry ways, tiny doors, leaf beds, flower walkways, and rock tables. It's a special time in the garden & a wonderful opportunity to look closer, see things with new perspective and to let in more magic!

Winter harvest recipes

We are lucky to have a mild winter here in the Bay Area. With the combination of rainy and sunny days, our winter garden veggies are beautiful! Last week, Garden Club students harvested red cabbage, green onions, green garlic, cilantro, radishes and peas to make a delicious Crunchy Slaw. So many garden treats packed this yummy salad! Get the recipe at the bottom. It's delicious on it's own, in a whole wheat wrap, on tacos, on a sandwich... or? Lots of possibilities!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

When life gives you lemons... make lemonade!

All classes have enjoyed harvesting the bountiful lemons from our citrus orchard -- and squeezing the fragrant juice into pitchers mixed with water and simple syrup to make their own refreshing lemonade drink!

Winter Garden Bounty

Since they returned from the holiday break, kindergarten has been enjoying many winter harvests! That's the joy of the Bay Area weather -- a few frosts didn't harm our citrus, and they only made our broccoli sweeter.

Freshly picked mandarins!

Kindergarten harvests various citrus fruits for a taste test.

Broccoli made not be quite as popular as our juicy citrus, but kinder still enjoy it more than anyone would guess! When they harvest it themselves, they are much more open to trying it! A little ranch or teriyaki sauce for dipping is nice, too. 

Look at our beautiful broccoli plants! 

YUM!