Lee Budish's weekly garden update for the week of March 3, 2008. A Very Busy time of year--all over right now, so we very much appreciate what time you have to help us in the garden. At this rate, the school year will be over in a blink. We are preparing the beds for our big spring planting this week. Some have been done this weekend and you can tell which ones. Please empty your bed of fava beans (you can leave your daffodils, if you have). There are still beds that do not have owners, please label room number and teacher with a sharpie. Need to know which bed belongs to which class.

1. Pull the fava beans out and have the kids break them in small pieces with shovels, by hand or scissors.

2. Toss them in the pumpkin patch. When doing so, tell the kids that the favas are high in nitrogen, a vitamin that will make pumpkins grow healthy and big and the plants' root growth improves soil structure. Show the kids the root. Growing it in your garden is like having the roots do the digging for you.

3. Gingerly move irrigation in bed, be careful.

4. Have the kids use hand shovels and dig and aerate the soil. I tell them it is like mixing a cake batter.

5. Then take soil from near the artichokes and amend bed.

6. Mix together, and smooth out.

7. Return irrigation to its place.

Good Luck and please do by Friday. I have been in the garden every day this week in and out, so feel free to contact me.

Thank you and have fun!

Leprechuan Day
Anyone want to volunteer and spray paint individual gravel with gold paint and help hide in the garden for Leprechuan Day, March 17?

New Weather Station
It is nailed to the grape arbor. Thermometer, barometer and it even measure humidity. Visit with the kids.

Greenhouse Seed Directions
We will begin to experiment with greenhouse planting. In the greenhouse there is potting soil, plastic pots and plant labels (white plastic sticks) and various seeds in a clear plastic bag. Here are directions. Feel free to contact me with questions, I will be around. Thank you garden parents! Have fun!

1. Have the children fill the small plastic pot with potting soil.

2. Add seeds from the plastic bag (whatever you wish) and cover with soil.

3. Label with a sharpie (please bring sharpie from the class because every time I bring them out they disappear immediately). Label with information so that you know that it belongs to your class. Example: Rm. 2, beans, 2/25 (the date) whatever you can fit on the label.

4. Moisten with water.

Some seeds will make it, and some won't. Don't feel bad if they don't. If they do not germinate in about 2 weeks, we will start all over again. That is why we will mark a date.

Stay tuned for details of our big spring planting week......

CHORE LIST

1. Weed the area surrounding the reading corner and Ms. Zimmer's garden.

2. If your garden bed is empty, please amend it with soil in the mound near the artichokes. Be careful of the irrigation.

3. Takes a couple of pages of newspaper and role in a cylinder; mark it with your class number and put in the garden somewhere. Check back on your next visit to see if you caught any bugs i.e. earwigs, snails, slugs, etc.

4. Have the kids dry off the stones in the copper fire pit in the front entrance and have them write their most favorite word on the stone and then put back. We make a word "soup" each year. It is okay to write over the faded words, and please bring a sharpie and paper towels from the classroom. Ask them for their most favorite word in the universe and see what they come back with.

5. We need some worm food. Looking for kitchen composts. Does anyone want to bring in a blender and show the kids how to make a worm shake or a worm salad? Please no citrus.

6. A BIG HIT! Worm stuff

Posted by Linda Dunne on March 3