Check out the Garden!

The Elementary School Helping Hands Garden is well on its way to another successful year!

The 2013-2014 third grade students were responsible for planting the garden! The classes started peppers, tomatoes, and squash from seed beginning in April! The last week of May/first week of June, the students planted the garden.  Take a special look at all the flower beds, those were designed by the 3rd graders! 

A couple new pieces this year: Bean pole tee-pee, cucumber and squash trellis, recycled tin can chains, colored lathes and labels. 

North Country Master Gardener Russ Parker assembled the bean pole tee-pee and trellis. Students in Nature Quest Summer School class colored the cans, lathes, and labels. 

This garden as well as the Experiences in the Middle School Garden are open to the community. The only thing we ask is if you visit the gardens, please respect the plants and their growth. If items get picked before they are ready, the community and students are missing out. 

The gardens are looking beautiful so we encourage you to stop by and see all the hard work the students put in planting, weeding, journaling about, and caring for the various vegetables and flowers!

Thank you to all the volunteers and families who have stopped in to water, weed, and enjoy the gardens!

Cold Doesn't Stop Us

Even though it is bitterly cold outside, the 1^st graders have been keeping it warm enough inside to grow lettuce.

The first grade students planted Black-Seeded Simpson lettuce seeds on January 14 and 15. During this planting lesson, they learned the importance of soil moisture. They felt the soil to make sure it was moist enough for the lettuce seeds to grow. 

Black-Seeded Simpson lettuce has a 7-14 day germination. However, most of the lettuce sprouted within 5 days! Two class plantings did not sprout as soon. The students learned that gardening and planting does not always go the way as planned and there may be challenges along the way.

Students and teachers were responsible for watering the plants on Friday. Other staff checked on it during the week. Regardless, every time the students saw someone watering the plants, they were curious how their class’s lettuce was doing and when they could eat it!

The time has come, 49 days later, to taste the lettuce. Students will pick their 3 leaves of lettuce and try the green flavor without any additional dressing. The process will have come full circle:  Plant, Grow, Taste!

Congratulations 1^st graders on being successful gardeners!

Special thanks to the teachers and North Country Master Gardeners Chris Weyh & Nancy Reis for their help maintaining and caring for the lettuce!