March 5, 2019 - 2019 Garden Season Kick-off Meeting

Post date: Mar 19, 2019 12:32:27 AM

We are so happy to kick-off the 2019 Garden Season!  On March 5, a handful of Seed to Harvest parent volunteers met to discuss goals for the season, ideas for improvement, and to welcome new parents to the program.  A second Kick-off meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 21 to accommodate volunteers who were unable to attend the day-time meeting.

• We discussed the goals for this year:

  • Modify grade-level planting/curriculum to ensure that all plants are able to be harvested prior to the end of the 2019 school year.  Also, change the grade 3 curriculum to cover pollinators (especially butterflies) to fit into the new science curriculum.  Kindergarten will now plant Legumes (Sugar Snap Peas/Green Beans), First grade will plant Brassica (Kale/Radishes), Second grade will continue to plant Carrots (and we will maybe add Beets), Third grade will plant flowers and manage the Butterfly Garden, and Fourth will still plant potatoes.

  • Work on cultivating our volunteer group and train parents on delivering the grade-level curriculum.  Possibly host in-person training sessions and/or record an online training session for each grade.  Also suggested is the creation of sub-committees with volunteer ownership (Grade Level, Volunteers, Garden Maintenance, etc).  Is it possible to get volunteers from middle school or high school?  ASAP?  Spread the word to incoming Kindergarten parents via tours at the meet & greet.

  • Define areas of ownership in the garden program and find volunteers for each

  • Organize the grade-level materials to make it easier for volunteers to find and prepare for classes

• We will maintain a garden task list at the school (in the new STH Work Area) so that volunteers can see what needs to be done when they come in on their own or as a group.

• Schedule weekly gardening times where volunteers can come and work with the more experienced committee members.

• Set up a watering schedule for the Grow Tower and Greenhouse/Living Lab (get parents to volunteer for each day of the week)

• We won't be making any major changes to the garden this year (we just replaced the beds last year), but there are a few things left over from last season:

  • Build the two remaining raised beds under the Kindergarten windows.

  • Build tiered bed for strawberries and cut back/train raspberries

  • (Finally) connect the greenhouse gutters to the Living Lab rain barrels

  • Move remaining dirt from pile to the beds (especially the flower beds under the first grade windows)

  • Clean the weed pile near STH sign, rake out dirt and plant grass seed

  • Clean out and organize the sheds in the garden and Living Lab

  • Organize STH materials in Teacher Work Area

  • Go through excess supplies in garden and get rid of anything no longer needed

  • Clean-up edges on benches in garden

  • Trim weed barrier under garden and rake out stones throughout

  • Assemble flower bed around STH 

  • Clean-up Living Lab/Greenhouse area

  • Repair Living Lab shade structure