Schoolyard Garden Lesson Plan

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© Copyright 2011, Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Better Homes and Gardens • bhg.com/gardening School-Yard Garden Lesson Plan Getting Started If you want to grow a school-yard garden, the first thing you need to do is find a suitable location. All vegetable gardens require full sun so look for a level spot that receives at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day. Be sure you have easy access to a water source. Soil quality is always important, but because we recommend gardening in raised beds, it’s not as critical since you can fill planter boxes with good- quality topsoil. Gardening in raised beds is ideal because the soil in them warms up faster in the spring and drains quicker during wet weather than the soil in nonraised beds. Because you can reach in from the sides, you don’t need to walk in raised beds so the soil doesn’t get trampled. Best of all, raised beds bring the vegetables up closer to eye level for younger students. How to Make a Raised Bed Click here to see how to build a raised bed. http://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/garden-care/how-to-build-a-raised-bed/ Raised beds should be about 12 inches tall; if you have any wheelchair-bound students you can make them even taller to provide easier access. You can make your own raised beds or buy raised bed kits that come with materials pre-cut and ready to assemble. Fill your beds with fresh topsoil and mix in some organic matter, such as compost or rotted manure. Make a Plan Once your raised beds are built, you are ready to begin planting. Ask your students what they’d like to grow, and encourage them to try something they’ve never eaten before. Another option is to provide a list of vegetables to your class and ask each student to check his or her top five favorites. For our gardens, we’ve selected vegetable varieties with kid appeal. They have bright colors, are extra sweet, and/or have fun names that spark curiosity, such as ‘Easter Egg’ radishes. Click here for information about selecting colorful vegetables. http://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/grow-colorful-vegetables/ Keep the length of your school year in mind when determining what you plant. In order for your students to enjoy the fruits of their labors you should choose varieties that will mature before summer break. With that in mind we created two sets of plans for beginning school gardens. One plan, Short-Season School Garden, is designed for northern states, where the growing season begins in April, and the other, Long-Season School Garden, is for southern regions, where January and February planting is possible. Both of our plans are based on six 3x4-foot raised beds. This would be the minimum amount of space you’d need to create a beginning school garden program. Additional beds can be added easily if you want to expand your garden. Page 1 of 3

Transcript of Schoolyard Garden Lesson Plan

Page 1: Schoolyard Garden Lesson Plan

© Copyright 2011, Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Better Homes and Gardens • bhg.com/gardening

School-Yard Garden Lesson Plan

Getting StartedIf you want to grow a school-yard garden, the first thing you need to do is find a suitable location. All vegetable gardens require full sun so look for a level spot that receives at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day. Be sure you have easy access to a water source. Soil quality is always important, but because we recommend gardening in raised beds, it’s not as critical since you can fill planter boxes with good-quality topsoil.

Gardening in raised beds is ideal because the soil in them warms up faster in the spring and drains quicker during wet weather than the soil in nonraised beds. Because you can reach in from the sides, you don’t need to walk in raised beds so the soil doesn’t get trampled. Best of all, raised beds bring the vegetables up closer to eye level for younger students.

How to Make a Raised BedClick here to see how to build a raised bed.http://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/garden-care/how-to-build-a-raised-bed/

Raised beds should be about 12 inches tall; if you have any wheelchair-bound students you can make them even taller to provide easier access. You can make your own raised beds or buy raised bed kits that come with materials pre-cut and ready to assemble. Fill your beds with fresh topsoil and mix in some organic matter, such as compost or rotted manure.

Make a PlanOnce your raised beds are built, you are ready to begin planting. Ask your students what they’d like to grow, and encourage them to try something they’ve never eaten before. Another option is to provide a list of vegetables to your class and ask each student to check his or her top five favorites. For our gardens, we’ve selected vegetable varieties with kid appeal. They have bright colors, are extra sweet, and/or have fun names that spark curiosity, such as ‘Easter Egg’ radishes.

Click here for information about selecting colorful vegetables.http://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/grow-colorful-vegetables/

Keep the length of your school year in mind when determining what you plant. In order for your students to enjoy the fruits of their labors you should choose varieties that will mature before summer break. With that in mind we created two sets of plans for beginning school gardens. One plan, Short-Season School Garden, is designed for northern states, where the growing season begins in April, and the other, Long-Season School Garden, is for southern regions, where January and February planting is possible.

Both of our plans are based on six 3x4-foot raised beds. This would be the minimum amount of space you’d need to create a beginning school garden program. Additional beds can be added easily if you want to expand your garden. Page 1 of 3

Page 2: Schoolyard Garden Lesson Plan

© Copyright 2011, Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Better Homes and Gardens • bhg.com/gardening

School-Yard Garden Lesson Plan

Short-Season School GardenAll vegetable varieties included in this plan can survive cool spring weather and will mature in less than 70 days. This will allow your students to plant directly in the garden in late March or early April and still enjoy harvests before they leave for summer break in June. After the crops are harvested, sow a quick cover crop, such as annual ryegrass, in the beds to prevent them from becoming weedy during the summer. When classes begin in the fall, spade or till in the rye grass and plant quick-growing salad crops for a fall harvest.

Note: Long-season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn, and melons are not included in this plan. If, however, you have a class that’s willing to work the garden through the summer, these vegetables can be added.

Click here for more information on quick-maturing vegetables. http://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/cold-weather-vegetable-gardening/

Click here to access the plan. http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plans/vegetable/salad-bar-garden-plan/

Long-Season School GardenIf you live where January and February planting is possible, you have a lot of options when it comes to the varieties of vegetables to grow. Even with a longer growing season, however, we’ve selected varieties that mature quickly. For example, we chose ‘Early Crisp Hybrid’ pepper because you can harvest in just 60 days. If no one will be tending the beds during summer break, sow annual rye grass in each bed to act as a cover crop until school starts again in the fall. The ryegrass grows quickly and will smother any weeds that might begin to invade the garden.

Click here for more free garden plans.http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plans/vegetable/vegetable-garden-plans/

Start PlanningMost of the vegetables we selected for our school gardens can be started directly outdoors at the appropriate time (always read the seed packs before sowing). But a few, such as tomatoes and peppers benefit from an early start indoors under grow lights or on a sunny classroom windowsill. You can sow seeds in almost any container that holds potting soil and has drainage holes. For example, ask students to save cardboard egg cartons -- each compartment is the perfect size for one seedling.

Click here for details on how to get started.http://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/garden-care/seed-starting-essentials/

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Page 3: Schoolyard Garden Lesson Plan

© Copyright 2011, Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Better Homes and Gardens • bhg.com/gardening

School-Yard Garden Lesson Plan

General CareOnce planted, mulch your beds with several inches of organic matter to help maintain soil moisture and eliminate weed competition. Compost, shredded leaves, or bark are all good choices, but even newspaper will work if you weigh it down to keep it from blowing away. Vegetables prefer about an inch of rainfall or irrigation per week. Install a rain gauge at the edge of one of the beds and have your students keep a weekly journal of how much moisture the beds receive. Have a hose and an oscillating sprinkler on hand to water the garden when nature doesn’t provide enough rain. Make sure you water plants deeply.

HarvestingNow comes the fun part! Each kind of vegetable -- and even individual varieties -- ripen at different times. Check the seed packet for information on the number of days until maturity, and ask students to record this information on a class calendar so they can count down the days till harvest. Keep in mind that this information is based on average growing conditions.

For best flavor, harvest crops such as squash, beans, peas, eggplants, and cucumbers when they are young and tender as bigger doesn’t always mean better. Wait until tomatoes are fully red (or whatever color they’re supposed to be at maturity) and slightly soft to the touch when they’re squeezed gently. Sweet peppers can be picked at the dark green stage or a few weeks later when they turn deep red.

Lettuce and other salad greens can be picked at any stage, from thumb size to full-grown. Trim loose-leaf types (the ones that don’t form a head) with scissors to an inch or two above the ground. New leaves will soon sprout from the base -- that’s why they’re often called cut-and-come-again lettuces.

Like lettuce, carrots can be harvested at any stage of growth. Check the diameter of the carrot tops that peek above the soil, and pull them when they reach the desired size. Carrots can be left in the ground until frost.

The edible portion of a broccoli plant is the unopened flower buds. Don’t wait until the flower buds open to harvest heads -- they’re too bitter to eat at this stage.

Bunching onions, also known as green onions are ready to harvest when the green stalks are about pencil thickness.

Click here for more harvesting tips. http://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/harvest-tips-for-the-freshest-vegetables/

Recently, Better Homes and Gardens and British chef Jamie Oliver planted a garden at a Los Angeles school to get kids excited about fresh food. The garden has been donated to the American Heart Association’s Teaching Garden. This innovative national program, founded by Kelly Meyer, aims to give kids hands-on learning experiences rooted in making nutritional choices. Visit http://www.takepart.com/teachinggarden

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