Springtime in the School Garden

Having lived in the Pacific Northwest for 31 years, I have vivd memories of springtime in the garden: mixing up the fall/winter leaves, dealing with cold spring rain, and hoping for the soil to warm up by the end of June to plant the summer crops!

Vegetable gardening in Arizona is so different!!  It's April 12th, and the winter/spring crops are coming to an end, and I am planning the summer crops.  Although our garden is still having a few soil issues, we did get a few vegetables to grow from January til now:

• kale
• cauliflower
• broccoli
• lemon balm
• rhubarb
• kohlrabi
• lettuce greens

Soon we will begin planting the summer crops: zucchini, cucumbers, and melons! 

Krispy Kale

In early April the Garden Club students made Kale Chips!!  It's a very easy recipe.  We just cut the kale leaves from the School Garden, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt, and baked the leaves at 300* for 20 minutes.  The children all enjoyed eating the "krispy" kale.  I think they were envisioning potato chips, but the children were good sports.  :)  Yum, yum!! 

Kale Fun Facts:

• Kale is a form of cabbage.
• It contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties.
• Until the end of the Middle Ages, kale was one of the most common green vegetables in all of Europe.

Worms!!!

Did you hear the shrieks, screams, and giggles coming from Dysart Elementary????  Well, no worries, it was just our WORMS!!!  The Garden Club students had a fun two days investigating worms.  Since worms are uncommon in the Sonoran desert soil of Arizona, it was a new and fun experience for the children!  We measured and named our worms.  The students spent time learning about how worms add nutrients to the soil.  It was a great activity!!

Composting Project

Starting February 1st, the 3rd- 5th graders at Dysart Elementary began recycling left-over fruit and vegetables from their lunches into a composting trash can.  This initiative started after the students from the Garden Club created a persuasive video and posters about the positive impact that composting has on our environment.  The students helped layer the recycled food with newspapers in a corner of the garden.  Our goal: create rich, nutritious soil for the School Garden.