Being observant has been key to noticing new flowers, buds, plants, weeds and the growing fruit and vegetables. When we stopped and were still, we got to see and wonder at God’s creation.
This year started with great excitement and wonder as we considered what we could and should grow in our new veggie beds. With the soil delivered, and reticulation installed, it was just a matter of time, waiting for the never-ending summer to cool off a little so we could get outside to plant.
Being observant has been key to noticing new flowers, buds, plants, weeds and the growing of fruit and vegetables. But also allowed us to find out what has been nibbling at our Asian greens before we got to! When we stopped and were still, we got to see and wonder at God’s creation. We listened for the buzzing insects and chirping birds in the garden and appreciated their role in the garden.
Here is a list of the plants we have cultivated and grown so far this year
- beetroot
- carrots
- Asian greens
- lettuces
- spinach
- herbs
- onions
- brussels sprouts
- peas
Along the way we have learnt about mulching, what happens when you drop too many pea seeds in a small area and what happens when the beetroot is not planted deep enough.
Oh, how beautiful it was to watch the leaves change colour over autumn on our deciduous plants! We have realised that deciduous plants create work in autumn and required us to develop our raking skills! We have recently started the process of making our own compost to feed our garden. We are still learning patience while waiting for our flowers to turn into vegetables.
Not Just Fruit and Veg
We are also growing fungi! Currently the Year 3 classes are waiting for their mushrooms to start pinning. There are white button, yellow oyster and blue oyster mushrooms growing inside and we think we can see where the first mushrooms are going to grow! In the class, we have one or two students that have never tasted a mushroom and a bunch that pick any mushroom they can out of meals! I wonder how many students are going to delight their parents and start eating mushrooms by the end of the year? Whichever way, we cannot wait to start cooking with them.
Waste Sorted
To help in our gardening endeavours we have used a Waste Sorted grant to help us better care for the land that God has placed us in. With our grant we have purchased compost bins, buckets, and bins to collect our waste in. We have new gloves, so we can keep our hands clean when gardening. Our fruit and vegetable scraps now go to feed our worm farms and fill our compost bins. In our classrooms, we have specific paper recycling bins so that our paper is not sent to landfill. We are thinking and learning how we can best use the resources that God has provided us with and reusing, reducing, and recycling where we can!
