A Fall Garden Update

 
Our fourth grade students have learned so much by raising and harvesting their own fall vegetables. We not only observed the life cycle of plants but also the life cycle of a cabbage worm. We ensured our plants had their proper basic needs. We also demonstrated excellent cooperative skills while planting tending and harvesting our garden.










The taste testing has probably been their favorite part. The red leaf cabbage was a little too bitter. The cabbage was delicious though! 











Our swiss chard and head lettuce are coming in slowly but should be ready for harvesting next week. We can't wait!



KY's First Lady, Mrs. Beshear, visits our garden

The garden was in tip-top shape on the day of the visit. Many thanks to the teams of students and teachers that helped to complete projects and tidy up our space!

The students worked on various projects while Mrs. Beshear toured the garden.

Mrs. Beshear answered student questions and discussed the importance of green and healthy initiatives within the school system.

local news coverage:

http://wkyt.videogenesis.net/preview?beginminute=19.6&endminute=20.5&startfield=19%3A36&endfield=20%3A30&synapses=yes&showstring=20111004_0500-065-27_Newsfirst_at_5AM&vote=none&interval=unknown&station=WKYT&btrim=0&etrim=0

our story on the district's website: 

http://www.fcps.net/news/features/2011-12/first-lady-garden

Thank you, Lowe's!

 I want to take a moment to thank our friends at Lowe's. They have been invaluable in the development of our garden. Our $5,000 Lowe's Toolbox for Education grant allowed us to purchase tools, plants and materials to begin the first three zones of our garden space--the storage area, our butterfly and bird garden and the raised beds. Thank you, Lowe's!!

I also want to thank store number 2345 (Lowe's of Northeast Lexington on Grey Lag Way in Hamburg). They were always willing to help me find the correct products within the store and when that wasn't possible, from the website. They never showed any signs of frustration when I would approach the counter, even though I'd always have pages of purchase orders to go through. On top of all that, they gave us free delivery on all large items and free installation of our shed. Thank you to Jeremy, one of the assistant managers, for organizing all of our freebies.

     We love Lowe's!

To Catch a Hummingbird

We put up a hummingbird feeder during our Saturday work day in July. I spotted our first hummingbird by that very next Monday. We've been seeing them regularly ever since.











Of course, the hard part is trying to photograph one with a basic digital camera.

The students feel so lucky when their class happens to be in the lab and a hummingbird visits outside our window. These students have learned about different animal structures and how they contribute to survival. They are discussing the shape of the hummingbird's beak.

fall garden

 

We finished our fall beds today! We planted lettuces, cabbages, chinese broccoli, cauliflower, swiss chard, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi and mini pumpkins within two raised beds. The fourth grade classes are following a variation on the "square foot gardening" method. They had to map out their planting plan on a coordinate grid using the spacing information on the plant tag. We're a bit worried we may have a bit too much compost in our soil mixture so I hope the nitrogen levels aren't too high. We'll learn important lessons either way, but it sure is more fun to learn a lesson with a bowl of fresh veggies you've grown yourself. Fingers crossed!



Appreciation

Thank you to Mr. Edwards, Luci's dad, for donating and delivering compost for our raised beds!

QuickUpdate:

Last school year finished in a blur and unfortunately many of our supplies and materials did not arrive until the final days.















The students were able to get our butterfly and bird garden in place.

Many other projects were started but we weren't able to complete them before the school year ended.

Many of our teachers and families came out to work on a Saturday over the summer and we were able to finish several projects and start several more.

Ms. Jackson now teaches at Booker T. Washington Academy but still came out to help us. She helped design the garden and will always be a part of it. Thanks, Ms. Jackson!

School has resumed. Here is the garden on the fifth day of school.

What do you think? I'd love to hear from you if you have any thoughts, ideas or would like to donate your time!

Happy Gardening,
Ms. Jones

What have we accomplished so far?

Ms. Jackson and I have been planning this garden since the summer of 2010. We have rather grandiose plans for the space and while it may take us several years to implement all of our ideas, we'll definitely get it done! We will be setting up a storage space, a butterfly/bird garden and 3 raised beds this spring. The science club will be very busy once our first shipment arrives. We will be looking for volunteers to help set up the storage shed. If you are interested, please email me at julierae.jones@fayette.kyschools.us. 

Of course, all of these plans require money. One of our first tasks was to apply for every grant and enter every contest we could find. We didn't win them all but we were successful. We received a $5,000 grant from Lowe's and a $1,000 grant from the Bluegrass Community Foundation. We were also lucky to have several garden tools donated to us on the DonorsChoose.org website. Our students helped us earn an additional $1,000 by winning our category in the Cash for Cans City Recycling Contest.

Next step, set up the first sections of our garden! We'll post pictures once we receive materials and the garden begins!

Happy Gardening,
Ms. Jones

Here we go!

Welcome students, families, teachers and community friends to the Russell Cave Elementary School Garden blog. Ms. Abby Jackson and I have been working hard to plan an outdoor learning space that will booster academic achievement through the promotion of environmental awareness, a healthy lifestyle and civic responsibility. Our garden plan will target all areas of the curriculum--science, health, literacy, math, social studies, the arts and technology.  

We intend to use this blog to help our school community stay connected to what is happening in the garden. My goal is to update this space on a regular basis, so please check back frequently for the latest on RCE garden news!

Here we go!

Julie Jones (Ms. Jones)