Growing School Food Gardens

We live in w. michigan. and have a community garden that is right across from an elementary school.  We have had some kids come in late may to help in it...but we would love to have the kids learn about gardening and work in it from time to time during the school yr.  
Has anyone had a school garden in the midwest where our growing season is only about 4-5 months? It seems that many volunteers would be needed to care for it during the main growing season. Any ideas? Thanks

------------------------------
Julia Chambers
AFFEW
Fountain MI
------------------------------

How exciting to have a community garden right across the street. I'm in Kansas and have a little longer growing season than you although when the weather turns cooler I have volunteers shift to other jobs. For example, turning compost, checking on worms in worm bins, feeding worms, organizing tools, cleaning up fall leaves, making "brown" pile for mixing in throughout winter months, cutting up plants that have been clipped to put on the compost pile, cleaning tools, gathering seeds for the next growing season, starting seeds inside about 10-12 weeds before last frost date for transplanting into garden… 
I find that the more I get parents/volunteers involved the more I find who is really passionate about gardening. Garden helps come and go and the work never ends so the more processes and procedures you have in place ahead of time the better the garden will proceed forward. 
Good luck my gardening friend!

------------------------------
Jena Simms
Wichita Collegiate School
Wichita KS
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-06-2023 06:41:09 PM
From: Julia Chambers
Subject: School garden for 9 month yr

We live in w. michigan. and have a community garden that is right across from an elementary school.  We have had some kids come in late may to help in it...but we would love to have the kids learn about gardening and work in it from time to time during the school yr.  
Has anyone had a school garden in the midwest where our growing season is only about 4-5 months? It seems that many volunteers would be needed to care for it during the main growing season. Any ideas? Thanks

------------------------------
Julia Chambers
AFFEW
Fountain MI
------------------------------

Thanks Jena, Lots of great ideas for working on the garden through the school year! Yes, lots of prep and activites that can be accomplished to prepare!

------------------------------
Julia Chambers
AFFEW
Fountain MI
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2023 11:40:38 AM
From: Jena Simms
Subject: School garden for 9 month yr

How exciting to have a community garden right across the street. I'm in Kansas and have a little longer growing season than you although when the weather turns cooler I have volunteers shift to other jobs. For example, turning compost, checking on worms in worm bins, feeding worms, organizing tools, cleaning up fall leaves, making "brown" pile for mixing in throughout winter months, cutting up plants that have been clipped to put on the compost pile, cleaning tools, gathering seeds for the next growing season, starting seeds inside about 10-12 weeds before last frost date for transplanting into garden… 
I find that the more I get parents/volunteers involved the more I find who is really passionate about gardening. Garden helps come and go and the work never ends so the more processes and procedures you have in place ahead of time the better the garden will proceed forward. 
Good luck my gardening friend!

------------------------------
Jena Simms
Wichita Collegiate School
Wichita KS

Original Message:
Sent: 01-06-2023 06:41:09 PM
From: Julia Chambers
Subject: School garden for 9 month yr

We live in w. michigan. and have a community garden that is right across from an elementary school.  We have had some kids come in late may to help in it...but we would love to have the kids learn about gardening and work in it from time to time during the school yr.  
Has anyone had a school garden in the midwest where our growing season is only about 4-5 months? It seems that many volunteers would be needed to care for it during the main growing season. Any ideas? Thanks

------------------------------
Julia Chambers
AFFEW
Fountain MI
------------------------------

I am jealous of the garden across the street from your elementary school as well.  I am not in the midwest, we are in NJ, but we do have an off-season plan that has worked.

Our school garden is almost an acre courtyard that makes public access during the school year and weekends difficult. We have gradually been able to get garden activities added to the school year curriculum so that the students have more ownership of the garden.  That being said, we plant a little bit of everything and that all keeps growing when school ends in mid June!

The school building is open to the public during the summer.  We take full advantage of the students' ownership of the garden and ask for families to sign up for a week during the summer to weed, water and harvest the vegetables.  A To Do List is left in the small common area with some simple instructions.  Typically the kids love to water and harvest more than weed! A few weeks before the end of the school year we have a Garden Open House, where all the students bring their parents and show them what they have been doing in the garden.  At this point we start asking for summer volunteers.  We use an online sign up system so that we know which weeks are covered and who will be helping out.  We do also offer the kids community service hours, if needed.

It is not a perfect system, but it has worked.  For any weeks without volunteers we have a few staff that are always willing to help out during the summer.

Good luck!

------------------------------
Daina Gulbis
K-8 Garden Coordinator
Somerset Hills School District
Bernardsville, NJ
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-06-2023 06:41:09 PM
From: Julie Chambers
Subject: School garden for 9 month yr

We live in w. michigan. and have a community garden that is right across from an elementary school.  We have had some kids come in late may to help in it...but we would love to have the kids learn about gardening and work in it from time to time during the school yr.  
Has anyone had a school garden in the midwest where our growing season is only about 4-5 months? It seems that many volunteers would be needed to care for it during the main growing season. Any ideas? Thanks

------------------------------
Julia Chambers
AFFEW
Fountain MI
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 3/13/2024 7:50:00 AM
From: Daina Gulbis
Subject: RE: School garden for 9 month yr

I am jealous of the garden across the street from your elementary school as well.  I am not in the midwest, we are in NJ, but we do have an off-season plan that has worked.

Our school garden is almost an acre courtyard that makes public access during the school year and weekends difficult. We have gradually been able to get garden activities added to the school year curriculum so that the students have more ownership of the garden.  That being said, we plant a little bit of everything and that all keeps growing when school ends in mid June!

The school building is open to the public during the summer.  We take full advantage of the students' ownership of the garden and ask for families to sign up for a week during the summer to weed, water and harvest the vegetables.  A To Do List is left in the small common area with some simple instructions.  Typically the kids love to water and harvest more than weed! A few weeks before the end of the school year we have a Garden Open House, where all the students bring their parents and show them what they have been doing in the garden.  At this point we start asking for summer volunteers.  We use an online sign up system so that we know which weeks are covered and who will be helping out.  We do also offer the kids community service hours, if needed.

It is not a perfect system, but it has worked.  For any weeks without volunteers we have a few staff that are always willing to help out during the summer.

Good luck!

------------------------------
Daina Gulbis
K-8 Garden Coordinator
Somerset Hills School District
Bernardsville, NJ
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-06-2023 06:41:09 PM
From: Julie Chambers
Subject: School garden for 9 month yr

We live in w. michigan. and have a community garden that is right across from an elementary school.  We have had some kids come in late may to help in it...but we would love to have the kids learn about gardening and work in it from time to time during the school yr.  
Has anyone had a school garden in the midwest where our growing season is only about 4-5 months? It seems that many volunteers would be needed to care for it during the main growing season. Any ideas? Thanks

------------------------------
Julia Chambers
AFFEW
Fountain MI
------------------------------