|
Post by derekbrooks on May 24, 2018 22:34:42 GMT
There were six children today but four of them worked with Gina, litter picking. So two worked with me. Swedes and turnips sown a few weeks ago were sown far too thickly so they needed thinning out . I told them to just leave one seedling every 6 inches. They also planted some peas that had been sown in drinking cups.We harvested the rest of the winter onions and they all took some home. They didn't do the thinning very well , probably because they hadn't enough patience so I finished it after they had gone home. long canes had been put in the tomato pots and they needed tying to a horizontal wire along the top so I did that as well when they had gone home.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Jun 14, 2018 22:28:17 GMT
Garden club started again today after half term. When I arrived the secretary told me that Gina , who I do the garden club with , had gone on a trip with some children and will be coming late. She didn't arrive till it was nearly time to go home. There were 4 children and they asked me if they could trim" Fred the head". There were things ready for planting but the beds that hadn't been planted were full of weeds. So I thought I had better let them carry on with Fred the head while I did some weeding. When they had got fed up of doing that we went in the polytunnel and sowed some French beans in pots.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Jun 21, 2018 22:06:46 GMT
Gina's father is ill in hospital and as soon as I arrived at school she got a phone call to say that he had had a turn for the worst so she had to go to him. There were 6 or 7 children and I was told that I wasn't allowed to look after them on my own without a member of staff. I looked after 4 on my own last week, though, so why a different number should make a difference I don't know . Anyway , these children joined another class and I went down to the veg plots myself. I thinned out the beetroot (children haven't patience to do this job) then did some weeding.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Jun 28, 2018 21:58:37 GMT
I received a message this morning to say that there was no garden club today because Gina's father had passed away yesterday so she was off and as I told you last week I am not allowed to look after the children on my own. The message also said that I could go and work on my own if I wanted to. I just called at school on my way home from Blackleach , to side shoot and tie up the tomatoes if needed. I noticed last week that there were a lot of turnips ready for use. Today, they were still there so I pulled them up and washed them and took them into school and gave them to the secretary. I suggested that they use them in the kitchen or let members of staff take them home. I said that it was no use growing vegetables and letting them go to waste so they need to be used.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Jul 6, 2018 21:59:16 GMT
Gina was back yesterday after 2 weeks off and there were 4 children. She told me that the Green Flag judges were coning in about two weeks . She thought we had better do some weeding. The childrens individual beds had not been used this year and they were full of weeds. I forked the beds over with a large fork and the children then got the weeds out with hand forks.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Jul 12, 2018 22:02:31 GMT
Today was the last garden club till September. The children planted onion sets that had been started off in drinking cups into some of the vacant beds that used to be the childrens individual beds. I weeded some of the other beds then fed the tomatoes for the first time and tied some up that needed doing.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Sept 20, 2018 21:09:56 GMT
As you know I am at Blackleach every Thursday till 3.00 for the health walk then the art club. The garden club at school was supposed to be starting again today after the summer holidays . It starts at 3.30 so I go there straight from Blackleach. During the holidays when there has been no garden club I have still been going to school on the way home from Blackleach to feed the tomatoes and do any side shooting and tying up that was needed. The weather was nice for the health walk but it started raining about 1.00 and carried on most of the day and very hard this afternoon. At 3.00 it was absolutely pouring down so I didn't see any point in going to school as there was nothing the children could do in this weather. They would have got wet through going down to the polytunnel which is about 100 yards from the school. So I decided to phone the school and I asked the secretary if she thought it was worth me going . I then had a chat with Gina and she said she intended getting the children to make posters . I wasn't needed to help with this so I went straight home. The most urgent job that needs doing at school is to dig up the potatoes. They should have been done in July but we didn't get chance so they will have to wait till next week.It is important that I dig them up with the children then they will see that potatoes don't all come from Tesco !. I will probably go tomorrow to feed the tomatoes.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Sept 27, 2018 20:58:47 GMT
I told you last week that garden club had been washed out as it was pouring with rain. Today was nice for it though . There were only four children and we dug up the potatoes. As I was digging them up they were examining them to see that they were O.K. I told them to reject any that were green . Some had slug holes in and some were beginning to rot but most were O.K. They should have been dug up before the holidays but we didn't get chance. When I dig potatoes up I always go over the ground again in case I have missed any . I started doing this but didn't have time to do it all so it will have to wait till next week. There are only two more garden clubs before half term , Oct 4th and 11th I don't usually go after half term as there is not much for children to do then. I can't go on the 11th because we are going away so after next week I don't think I will be going till next spring.
|
|
|
Post by Cat on Sept 29, 2018 22:30:56 GMT
It has been great to read these posts and to hear how the club is going. I know our school growing area has various numbers year on year but is admired by many and I am sure without your input it wouldn't be half what it is. Having a person share their knowledge will be a lasting memory for those children so from myself as a parent who likes to pass on skills - thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience through the club and your books
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Sept 30, 2018 19:47:42 GMT
Thanks, Cat
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Oct 4, 2018 18:59:43 GMT
Went to the garden club this afternoon for the last time till next spring. The children were harvesting veg for use in the school kitchen. They got some turnips, beetroot, marrows and swedes and they washed the potatoes that we dug up last week. Gina had used some of the potatoes in the hamper. There were plenty of apples and they all took some home. I fed the tomatoes for the last time then spent the rest of the time tidying up and did some more weeding.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Feb 26, 2019 22:11:00 GMT
Gina phoned to say that garden club at school was starting again on Thursday. It used to start in the middle of March but last year it didn't start till after Easter. This was far too late so I'm glad it is starting earlier but I think mid March is early enough for children to start sowing and planting things. Assuming we were starting after Easter again I had made a sowing and planting plan out with this in mind. So, this evening , I have just finished making a new plan out from mid March like we used to.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Mar 14, 2019 20:53:26 GMT
Been to the garden club today for the first time this year. I had made out a sowing and planting plan starting today. Garden club did begin two weeks ago but I didn't go last week or the week before because it was raining and there was nothing either me or the children could do outside and there was nothing to do in the polytunnel either till today .The jobs I had planned for today were planting onion sets in pots and sowing lettuce in cell trays. There were four children and one did the onions and one did the lettuce and the other two did weeding on the small beds. We did 24 onions in 4 inch pots and four cell trays of six lettuce, two of" Lakeland" and two of "all the year round" .I had taken two bags of compost round previously.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Mar 21, 2019 22:20:41 GMT
There were five children today. Three of them sowed seeds with me in the polytunnel. The seeds were all sown in drinking cups and we did 15 each of Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflowers and leeks. I told them to just make a shallow hole in each cup with their fingers and put 3 or 4 seeds in each and then cover them up and label them .When I made the plan out I thought there was another two Thursdays before the Easter holidays but I was told that there was no garden club on the last Thursday. We had therefore to bring some of the sowing forward. The cabbages were due to be sown next week . Next week we will have to do jobs which were due the week after. The other two children carried on weeding the small beds.
|
|
|
Post by derekbrooks on Mar 22, 2019 22:29:32 GMT
Been gardening at school all day .All the beds on the allotment that needed manuring have been done and I wanted to do the same for the beds at school. On my allotment, as you know, I have four veg beds that I rotate but I grow onions and leeks on a separate bed . All the veg beds get manured except the root crop bed. At school there also four main beds that I rotate the same way except that the onions and leeks have to go in the potato bed. I weeded and manured the three beds that needed doing. Apart from these beds there are about twelve small beds that the children used to grow their own crops in. I also weeded and manured two of these beds to grow sprouts in. There were still some leeks and swedes in the main beds and I had to harvest them so that I could manure the beds. The leeks were rather small but still usable, Some of the swedes were too small but some were O.K.I left the rest there and asked the caretaker to either take them home or give them to anyone who wanted them.The root crop bed still needs weeding but I didn't have time. Called at the allotment for a cabbage after.
|
|