Topic: Ideas for a school garden

[cocopops]

My daughter's school, in Brittany France, have just started digging out a vegetable garden.  We have been asked to send in seeds that are easy to grow.  I am definitely sending in butternut squash as they were a real hit last year.  My Breton neighbours loved them, even if they were unsure how to cook them at first.

I seem to have a seed mountain, and my parents are over in a few weeks and can bring other seeds with them.

I know that several members of the forum are involved in children's gardens, in any case all suggestions would be welcomed.

[dtw]

Sunflowers always go down well with kids.

Cherry tomatoes for their little hands.

[Vortex]

Things that the children can see growing go down really well. The foundation class at my daughters school had a garden last year, shame this years teacher is not interested.
Beans , runner, broad, and french go down well as they can be grown in cups on blotting paper for the first few weeks, so the kids see how they grow roots and leaves (ticks all the science boxes), before they need potting one. They are also reasonably quick maturing so they get to eat their crop before the summer break.
From a growing point of view both Sweetcorn and Tomatoes do well but they tend to crop much later.

[Jeannine]

Kids like to see variations, so I go for the basics but more of the unusual eg:

Miniature pumpkins like Jack be Little or Baby Boo(white)

Runner Beans..goes along with the Jack and the Beanstalk story

Other beans with different colour pods, purple, yellow, even the beans themselves are interesting,all different patterns

Radishes as they grow so quickly..all different colours, black , white etc round oval and sausage shaped

Miniature cukes,  regular or round, or coloured ones like yellow, white etc

Small lettuce, Little Gem or Tom Thumb..

A lettuce patch with different colours, cos types, oak leaf types, frilly ones , smooth ones etc, so many options here

Tomatoes in all colours, red, purple,orange,yellow,green, white and multicolored ones, toms with different shapes from sausage shaped to frilly ones

Carrots,all the different colors and shapes.

Rainbow Chard

Definitely winter squash, especially the odd looking ones,all different colours, shapes and textures

Beetroot, red, white, yellow and striped

Aubergines, again all different colors

Cauliflower, purple, white, cream yellow , green and orange

Brussels Sprouts, different colours

Cabbages all different shapes from round to sharp pointed

Coloured potatoes, white, red, black, white and multi coloured

Good Start!!


Have fun

Jeannine XX

[Robert_Brenchley]

What are the school holidays in France? You need to plan it so everything happens in term time, which would rule out a lot of the stuff I grow. Sweet corn might work, if you planted a variety which would ripen in September.

[antipodes]

What are the school holidays in France? You need to plan it so everything happens in term time, which would rule out a lot of the stuff I grow.

Quite true - Hols here are all of July and August  :-\
Which does rule out the tomato, courgette etc type stuff. A very early tomato nurtured indoors I daresay would give some fruit in June?
But all teh other stuff should be ok, lettuce, radish, carrots - what about maincrop spuds that they can dig up in Sept?? Kids LOVE digging up spuds, like a treasure hunt.
Strawberries would be good too...

[Melbourne12]

When I taught reception we used to grow potatoes in tubs (minimised the mess digging them up), sunflowers, beans (which were sent home after starting growing on blotting paper), but we had a problem with things like radishes or lettuce which would grow but they would not eat, and tomatoes which they would eat but would not grow in time.  But when we ran a gardening club it went across the years so fhe children could come back in September and see the results of their summer planting.  This was ok because someone was around to water, feed, begin picking etc.  It's worth thinking what years are doing it, we found the young children got really upset if their bean or whatever did not grow properly. 

[redimp]

As RB said, avoid anything that crops during the holidays unless it is in transportable containers.  The School Council at my school is organising a pumpkin growing competition this year.  We will start when we get back after the spring break so they all start fairly (same compost, same pots, same watering regime) but come the summer break, they will be going home to be treated as the entrants see fit, then judged in October.  The Council wanted to do sunflowers until I pointed out that they would be less transportable so someone would they would have to come into school over the holiday to tend their plant - thus the pumpkin competition was born.  It is so nice being able to influence but allowing them to keep ownership of ideas. :)