school garden

SCHOOL GARDEN
i have helped several schools put in gardens for the students
and staff to enjoy
those kids just love digging in the dirt
its amazing what veggies they will eat if they plant them

my wife shes garden was planted and was improved each
year
she used it as well as other teachers to do writing class
english class math class science class art class
all the teachers incorporated the garden into their curriculum
kids loved it

my cowgirl sisterinlaw let me help her school put in gardens
using the circular watering troughs
it was amazing that day those kids were eating swiss chard
and spinach
the first for many of them

i also helped with this garden
as a advisor and as a hands on helper

they made their own soil
which like compost is the best kind
you make it yourself

ive heard it many times listening to garden shows
you take a $5 plant and plant it in a $50 hole
the soil is the lifeblood of a successful garden
skimp on it and you will struggle with the garden
until the soil is amended over time

enter the next school garden i have become involved with
i was  working at meals on wheels waiting for the cooks
to get the meal ready
a mom who runs a route said something about 20 tomatoes
she had to go plant at her kids school
of course my ears perked up
she said we dont know what we are doing but we are going
to do it anyway
anyone helping you guys i said
no
ill be happy to help

so here is their garden
that whole area in a palette that they will be able to paint
with garden and plantings
so far theyve done a good job
they used concrete blocks three across  and about 15 ft+ long
they have two of them

apparently the garden has been there for more than one season
but the parents and school have gotten involved this time
to make it successful

now the garden soil is adequate
i am going to use this as a chance to talk about the soil
when i dug down a hands depth
grabbed a handful
mashed into a ball it stayed all clumped together
my country n garden soil will not do that since it has so much
organic material in it

remember the $50 rule
if you start a garden spend your money on good soil
it is worth it in the long run

so the soil they have was donated
it probably is sandy loam they clay stuff dug out of pits
that has no nutrition or life in it at all
it has to fixed
the companies add compost and sand  and sometimes
minerals and other things like peat moss
but still it never is the same as the good organic soils
that are sold by our local nurseries
like geo growers gardenville the natural gardener whittlesey
to name a few
they have the best soil available anywhere

so my advise would have been had i been asked would be to
spend the money to start with on good soil

i helped the kids plant the tomatoes and peppers that day
my oh my they enjoyed it
one little boy wouldnt dig in the dirt just with the shovel
i told him you know you have to use your hands
so
into the soil they went
i dont think he has ever done that before
he was hooked after that

i am a firm believer in kids exposure to good garden soil
and dirt
it makes them healthier

so what to do now
i got some one to donate compost to put down for the spring
planting
then my older brother brought me bags of pine straw from
arkansas
i donated that to the garden to use as mulch
it lets water through
keeps the soil cool in the hot weather
and
will breakdown and improve the soil
it also helps lower the ph in the soil
here in central texas the ph is too high

then
i recommend in the dead time between the spring and fall plantings
they do thing to improve the soil
adding ripped up newspapers and leaves and grass clippings
lots of compost
digging it deep into the soil
warning dont use grass clippings that weed and feed has been
used on
or
hay which has lots of seeds and residual weed killer in it

also add liquid humate and molasses to the soil
this increases the biological activity of the soil
consider buying worms and adding them to the soil
doing that each summer until the soil gets like the country n soil

this fall when the fall planting is done
add compost on top before planting the fall garden

if they do this they will have the best garden soil around
like the kids the plants will grow better and will be
more productive

its the life in the soil that makes the garden be successful

if you recognize this schools garden
volunteer to help them
and
donate to the garden fund

the organicgreen doctor