This post was furnished by Christie Ashmore, a teacher working with students in Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Jimenez’ fourth and fifth grade classes.

The Miller/Ashmore/Murray/Matyas class has already had a plethora of experiences learning in the Van Hise Garden:

• assembled and planted a salad garden in one of the white hoop houses
• rotated our Shepard’s hooks and filled our song bird feeders
• dug up two new beds for a bee and butterfly garden
• read about butterflies in our Time For Kids Magazine
• sprouted potatoes in our classroom window and snacked on potatoes planted last year
• thinned vegetable seeds
• studied with Kurt Runzheimer (a Dad in our class) about the honeybee’s history in American and about beekeeping
• learned (by trial and error) how to use the water key for the hose and the combination lock to the shed!

Here are some of the personal student experiences that were shared:

Katie: I enjoyed planting the lettuce and going out to water and secretly tasting a bit each time. I also like opening the hoop houses and seeing all of the greens growing in there. (Continued below slideshow) 

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Nicole: My most enjoyable thing is eating the things that we grow. I am looking forward to salad day and having mashed potatoes loaded with butter and sour cream for snack.

Christina: I liked watering the garden on our rotations two times per day and seeing how every time I watered, the plants had grown.

Rachel: I loved having my dad come and sampling the veggies we grew. I like planting all sorts of things.

Jake:  I like eating the lettuce and chives out of the raised bed. Did you know there are two mice that live by the hose? My favorite garden job is ripping the soil out for a brand new butterfly garden.

Lucas:  I like watering in the garden and eating what we have grown. My favorite thing that I am looking forward to is planting gigantic pumpkins. I think we will be breaking a World Record!

Robbie: I liked planting the peas and radishes. I learned about watering plants and the bees.

Alex: I especially enjoyed learning how to grow potatoes from the potato eyes to the mashers we ate for snack. I also enjoyed the sweet juicy lettuce that I sampled.

Mafias:  I loved planting the potatoes. It was extraordinary! Yesterday I collected grubs from our garden patch and fed them to the wren who lives in Van Hise Garden.

Kristina: I liked making the mashed potatoes learning how they grew because it was fun and delicious.  I also like to go outside to water everyday.

Sofia: I enjoy the watching the mice scurry back and forth from the shed to the school.

Lauren: I thought it was spectacular when we thinned out the radishes, listened to the birds and watched the butterflies. I am looking forward to seeing some Cinderella pumpkins grow plump in the fall.

Natalie: I liked planting the arugula and eating the white delicate juicy flowers that are a delicacy. I want to see the eggs and baby wrens that may arrive sometime soon in our wren house in the tree.

Lyle: I liked how we open the hoop house each morning and taste what foods are coming up. I also look to finding what is ready to eat.

Jacob:  I liked planting all of the seeds in the soil and “zipping” up the rows. I also enjoyed learning how to plant vegetables.

Emeka: I liked digging up the soil and watering. I saw some bugs and worms.

Zev: I enjoyed edging our pumpkin patch to be. And my favorite activity of all is chasing “Smarty-Pants” Mohoney around the garden while collecting grubs.

Emily: I enjoy looking at the different gardens that classrooms plan and put in and also digging up the potatoes this fall from another year.  I am amazed by all of the information that Mr. Runzheimer taught us about the honey bee.

Mollie:  I kind of like using shovels to dig up stuff and sprouting and planting our vegetables from seeds. I think it is cool that the wren is eating the grubs we have given it and this helps the garden, too.

Kaya:  In the garden this year, I enjoyed everything. Some of the things I enjoyed most were removing the sod for a butterfly garden and eating the food we have grown.

Allison: I thought it was entertaining to learn how to open the combination lock on the shed and taste the fresh lettuce from the hoop house. I am looking forward to coming down from middle school and eating mashed potatoes with the fourth graders next year.

Destiny: I enjoyed the singing of the wren that I can hear in my classroom as I work.  I also loved how Mr. Runzheimer’s dad, a retired farmer, taught us how to make a grass whistle.

Sawyer: In the garden I really enjoy seeing all of our plants start to sprout and grow into plants. I also liked learning about different types of birds, butterflies, bees and insects in the garden.

We are excited about all of the activities we have planned yet to accomplish!  We love learning and working in the Van Hise Garden!!

 

Here are some notes that might help as you walk with your kids through the Van Hise Outdoor Classroom.

Kale: There is an experiment going on. We’ve cut the yellow flowers off two of the Red Russian Kale plants that are blooming in the Question Mark Garden near the shed. We’ll let the other plants keep flowering.  Questions: What do you think will happen? How does snipping off the flowers affect the plant?

Edibles: Kids can snack on the kale. Leaves are nice raw.

Iris: Now is a great time for kids to take a close look at some of the most beautiful flowers out there. The purple iris are in bloom. Questions: Why do plants flower? Why do they have brightly colored flowers?

Wrens: We put up a wren house in the maple near the shed. Wrens are really cool little birds. They are feisty and territorial, and they will chatter-chatter when you come close to their house.  They are helpful to the garden because they eat a lot of insects that can eat the plants. Questions: Why might wrens like making a nest near the garden? Why don’t they want you to get close to their house?

Lemon balm: Around raised bed D are some plants that look like mint. That’s lemon balm. It’s nice for kids to chomp or simply pick and smell. If you pick the leaves and leave the plant, it will keep growing leaves. Questions: Why would a plant smell like lemon?

Chives are now flowering purple. Feel free to have the kids pick some and chomp.

Oregano is growing in two large mounds, one in the bed just south of the stump ring. It’s another good sensory plant. Pick as much as you want.

Hoop houses: Have the kids check out what’s growing. Questions: What is the purpose of the hoop houses? What do the kids notice about what’s growing there?

In 2008, the world marked a turning point: More than half of the Earth’s human population now lives in cities. People have less space, and that means less space to grow their own food.

But wait…what if people knew how to grow more food in less space?

Our first Square-foot Gardening Workshop drew teachers and parents, despite rescheduling after two postponed dates. In went cilantro, carrots and red onions. The kids showed off their digging skills. We discussed companion planting. Our teachers are in, and we love that.

Teachers, OT staff, and parents join students at the Spring Square-foot Gardening Workshop.

The 4/5 classes were out in force today, “expanding” existing beds and planting like crazy. Teachers Mahr and Christopherson led the outing. The kids found a bumper crop of grubs and worms, electing to make bird food out of the grubs. They planted cilantro, zinnias, carrots, bush beans, and sunflowers along side lettuce, radish, and peas. They sampled big mouthsful of Red Russian kale that overwintered in the garden. Questions arose out of these kids like a burgeoning crop of switchgrass. They were ON.

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Here are some shots:

Lightning intervened, so we’ll meet Thursday the 10th in the Garden!

Join us as we discover just how much you can grow in a tiny space. We’ll amend the site with compost, do some planning, and then plant red onions, cilantro and carrots, making room for our viney seedlings (tomatoes, cukes) that will come later. If you’re a gardener, bring your wisdom to share!

If you plan to come, please RSVP to Mary Michaud, marymichaud@tds.net. Teachers, kids, parents, grandparents and neighbors welcome.

New school gardens are popping up all over Madison, and volunteer familes at Sandburg Elementary just tripled their garden space. Check out the article!

If you’re wondering where there are other youth gardens around town, check out this map. (Sandburg is not yet linked on the map; here is it’s location, on the far east side, north of East Towne Mall.)

If you visit the school garden, you will see two things that look a bit like covered wagons! Van Hise parents Kurt Runzheimer and Cindy Koepke recently built hoophouses (or mini-greenhouses) over two of the raised beds. Mary Michaud and Shelby Connell also lent much-appreciated hands.

With thick plastic covers to hold in the heat, plants in these garden beds will get a headstart on the growing season. The sides of the hoophouses roll up so that the plants won’t get too warm later on when the weather warms up. Mrs. Powell’s class has already got carrots, radishes, and greens sprouting in Hoophouse B.

The hoophouses are made inexpensively with materials you can get at a local home center or hardware store: 10′ long PVC pipe (schedule 40, 1/2 inch, bendable, in case you want to make one of these for your own home), 8′ pieces of wood, 3.5 ml clear plastic, old bike inner tubes to hold the rolled-up plastic on the frame, and assorted other bits of wood and hardware. The basic plans are available online, and Kurt came up with some improvements to the basic design which save wear and tear on the hoophouses from the wind and the many gardeners who will be enjoying them!

Here’s a gallery of pictures of the construction. Click on any one of them to see them bigger!

A few of the things happening this week at the Van Hise Outdoor Classroom:

• Mrs. Powell’s class has a hoop house with some bouncing baby plants! Despite the frost, the little plant friends are holding their own because of the lovely environment inside. The side “doors” can be rolled up (carefully) and old bicycle inner tubes are there to hold up the doors. Check them out! Thanks again to Cindy Koepke for her design/build services!
• Mrs. Riecke’s class planted peas a while back, and they are doing well!
• Iris and hollyhock are coming up toward the south end of the garden.
• New raspberry bushes, planted last fall around the windflower pole, are sprouting leaves. Thanks to Sandra Bradley for this transplant!
• Two dappled willows are coming back nicely after being planted last fall near the compost bins. These grow to provide lovely “fort-like” cover for garden fairies.
• There is Red Russian Kale in the “Question Mark” garden near the shed. (The step stones form a question mark…) Kids over break were chomping the kale. It overwintered and kids should be encouraged to pick off a leaf where it attaches to the stalk and chomp it right up. It’s the Super-Food. Please–eat it!
• A large patch of oregano is coming back in the second loose bed on the right. Have your kids pick some and taste it. It’s a perennial and can spread aggressively. Chives (an herb in the onion family) are also found in bunches around the garden. They are already sprouting purple flowers.
• There is a new “willow tunnel.” Kids should feel free to run through it, but caution them not to pull out the willows. They may still establish roots, although we planted them just before a long string of hard night frosts. We’ll see if they survive. If not, there are more willows we’ll root when it’s a tad warmer out.
• Ornamental strawberries are in the first bed to the right, next to the school. Last week they had blossoms.
• The shed got a little makeover inside, thanks to garden guru and dad, Kurt Runzheimer. Check out the new space for hanging tools and implements! Thanks, Kurt, for all your great initiative!
• Much of the upper Midwest is facing drought conditions. Precipitation is well below average for many counties in Wisconsin, although Minnesota is worse. With this in mind, we’re looking at ways we can harvest water from the school roof. Because rain barrels generally rely on having a downspout, this year we might use a pretty low-tech method to catch more water and use it for the garden: Rubber garbage cans. If you would like to donate a few dollars to the Rain Can Fund, please let us know or put a check in the PTO mailbox with “garden fund” in the memo box.

Today’s Square Foot Gardening Workshop is postponed until Thursday, May 3, from 3:30 – 4:30pm. (The facilitator is home with a sick child.) Plus, anything you put in the ground this week will have a flamingo’s chance in Wisconsin of surviving long…frosty nights have settled upon us.

If you would like to participate in this workshop, kindly RSVP to Mary Michaud, marymichaud@tds.net. If you are a teacher working with a small space, here is a brief Sample Lesson Plan.

Why come to this workshop?

1. Gardening is cool.
2. You can grow tasty, healthy stuff in your own yard or on your balcony in a very small amount of space and with little $$.
3. It’s free (unless you’d like to make a Generous Donation to the Outdoor Learning Fund–just ask the instructor).
4. It’s easy, because your kids should come along.
5. You can ask what you *think* are “dumb” questions, because no one there will know anything more than you do. In gardening, there are a million ways to answer each question, and pretty soon, a simple question leads you to dissecting the Big Bang. (One good reason to support our school garden…)
6. You don’t have to set foot inside the school. If schools creep you out, then come outside!

In the meantime, if you want to get a head start, check out this post by “The Frugal Dad.” And one at Cheap Vegetable Gardening. You will be amazed at how much you can grow in a little space.

Today, under a bright spring sun, more than 100 Van Hise Elementary students, teachers, staff and parent volunteers learned about gardening. They prepared beds, amended the beds with leaf compost, and in went sugar snap peas, onions, kale, basil, mesclun and a variety of radishes. Below is a revised map of where you’ll find your classroom’s bed!

Click on the map to download it.

Fourth and fifth grade students learned the role of the gardener: To set plants up to succeed, reducing competition for space, light, water, air and nutrients. To plan a garden, they thought about what gardeners need to know–how tall plants will grow, how far they spread, whether they like sun or shade, what they like in their soil and how much water they prefer. They learned some techniques to help the plants along–mulching, raised bed gardening, and  intercropping–which in some cases also cuts down on the workload.  They also dug up innumerable grubs, worms and June bugs.

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 Photos by Celia Michaud, 4th grade, Mr. C’s room

Many thanks to the parents who came out to work with the classrooms: Sarah Van Riet, Cindy Koepke, Kurt Runzheimer, and Mary Michaud. Do you like to witness sheer joy? Laughing? Discovery? Then you would like to join the parent or community crew working with our kids in the outdoor classroom. Email Sarah or Mary. The rewards are, well, difficult to quantify.