Tips for School Gardens

Here's some general tips for school garden plantings. 

• You need at least 6 hours of sun to grow fruiting plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. With less sun, you can grow leafy greens and many herbs.
• Test your soil through a soil testing laboratory, to check if there are any high levels of toxic metals, and to establish if the soil is poor in any of the major nutrients.
• Raised beds are ideal for controlling the soil that is used, reducing trampling, and they warm up faster in spring.
• Choose short season and perennial self-seeding early vegetables for spring crops. Use the last week of school for Salad Celebrations.
• Use row covers to extend the season in spring and fall and even winter. 
• Choose late varieties for fall harvest. Choose varieties with small fruits to maximize children’s ability to taste a small portion.
• Choose easy-to-grow and child-friendly plants such as mint, sorrel, chives, and lemon balm
• Succession planting allows multiple class plantings and multiple harvests. Be sure to mark your rows!
• Perennials (plants that return every year) and fruiting shrubs or trees should be part of your garden.

Top tips for children's programming:

• Keep children in small groups to encourage more hands-on opportunities and less chaos
• Prepare lesson plans well ahead of time and always have a "plan b".
• Never force children to taste or participate in a hands-on activity - they may prefer to observe first
• Be open to children's inquiry and discovery - the best programs are those that are "led" by the kids.