Why not make a video of your gardening project?

This video comes from the BBC Dig In site. Making a video of your school's gardening activities is an ideal literacy activity and is not as difficult as you might think. I have successfully carried out film making activities with children as young as 6 and also children with special needs. Without exception they have loved it! Film making also integrates Gardening into your ICT lessons. It motivates children who would usually have difficulty in writing about their experiences and adds a new dimension to literacy lessons.



If you do create a video you could upload it to YouTube or TeacherTube and I would be happy to post a link to it on my website. Also I am still keen to receive any photos and information about your school garden to add to my website examples page which at the moment has NO examples. If you have a website showing your schools gardening activities why not email me the link to add here? The aim of this page is to inspire other schools to have a go and also alert them to what went well and any pitfalls. Remember someone has to be first!

Why fertilise the soil?

If your soil has just been cleared and hasn’t been used for growing before then you will probably not need to use a fertiliser. New ground often produces fantastic crops. Over the years plants use up the natural nutrients in the soil and so the fertility needs supplementing with a fertiliser of some sort.

Fertilisers contain three main plant nutrients, nitrogen (N) which is needed for healthy leaf growth, Phosphorus (P) which is needed by plants to produce healthy roots and shoots and Potassium (K) which is of general benefit to plants but is particularly necessary for plants to produce fruit and flower.

Fertilisers also contain very small amounts of trace elements such as iron and manganese.

The proportions of N, P and K should be quoted on all fertiliser packs as N:P:K so 10:12:24 indicates that the fertiliser is high in potassium and would therefore be good to use on fruiting or flowering plants.

When using fertilisers it is important to follow the instructions on the labels. Just in case the label becomes unreadable you may find it useful to male a note of the instructions to keep somewhere safe.

Click here for more information

Add flowers to your vegetable patch.

You may have heard gardeners talk about companion planting. This practice is based on the belief by many gardeners that certain plant groupings are in some way beneficial.

There is much argument as to whether some aspects of this belief has any scientific basis. An investigation into whether certain plant combinations work or not could form an interesting investigation for children to undertake; for instance do nasturtiums attract aphids away from broad beans or do marigolds repel whitefly away from tomatoes.

There is little doubt, however that flowers do attract beneficial insects which can only be a good thing. They provide another dimension to a vegetable patch. Not only by providing colour and the opportunity to study insects at close quarters but also by providing a crop of cut flowers for the classroom.

If you have space a patch of native wild flowers is especially effective in supporting a range of indigenous insects. A patch of nettles tucked away in a corner will provide a food plant for many butterfly caterpillars (don't worry not cabbage whites!) and the leaves (not roots) can be used on the compost heap. Also a patch of grass that is allowed to form seed heads attracts many insects. To provide a food supply for as many insects as possible you need to choose different shapes of flowers e.g. tube shapes and daisy shapes.and also have some flowers that grow throughout the season.

More information is available if you click here

Choosing what herbs to grow

The suggestions for which herbs you may choose to grow on your vegetable patch are now completed on the website click here

Herbs are a sort of half way house between flowers and vegetables. As well as having scented foliage, many have attractive flowers and variegated leaves. A herb garden can be ornamental as well as productive. Herbs can be mixed in amongst other ornamental or food plants; they can be grown in containers or in a patch devoted to growing herbs. Herbs are ideal plants for the sensory garden as not only can they contribute a mixture of flavours and scents but many have a particular texture.

Many herbs flowers are much loved by butterflies and bees so a herb patch can encourage biodiversity in your vegetable patch and encourage beneficial insects which in turn will pollinate fruit or help keep insect pests under control.

The word herb has various definitions, on this page the term herb is used to describe a plant grown for flavouring, scent or medicinal purpose.

Growing herbs in a school garden is especially appropriate as many plants date back to the beginnings of civilisation and can be linked to a study of a particular historical period. Herbs were used in the courts of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. Ancient Egyptians used herbs for medicinal purpose and also in the embalming process. Ancient peoples believed some herbs had magical properties and they were used to protect from evil and in rituals. Each herb had a special significance or power attributed to it. Herbs have even been used as currency.

Through the ages herbs continued to be used medicinally as some still are today. They were also used to flavour food especially when food became tainted during storage. Not only would use of herbs mask unpleasant tastes but was thought to act as a disinfectant on particularly bad meat. Herbs were burned as a fumigant. Bad smells were often associated with disease and herbs were used to mask odours. To fulfil this, aim herbs would be stuffed into keyholes and shoes or herb bags would be worn from a belt. They have also been used as ingredients in dyes and cosmetics.

In the 16 and 17 century herb gardens became popular in cottages, castles, and monasteries although wild herbs were considered to be more powerful than cultivated ones. Herb women and root gatherers made a living collecting herbs growing wild in the countryside. Some of these women were persecuted and tried as witches. Herbs were also grown by apothecaries in physic gardens.

And ... when is a currant not a currant?

Answer - When it is a grape!

Children - well I suppose adults do too - may confuse blackcurrants and the dried currants using in baking. These are not currants at all but are dried grapes. TheBlack Corinth grapes used are a very small, sweet, seedless, black grape from Greece.

Currants and gooseberries belong to the same family of plants called Ribes. Several ornamental plants also belong to the same family.

They are fairly easy to grow and require a similar methods of cultivation. A relatively new introduction to the family is a jostaberry which is a cross between a blackcurrant and a gooseberry.

I have now completed the page on the website about currants and gooseberries click here

When is a fruit not a fruit?

Answer - when it is a strawberry, raspberry, blackberry or rhubarb!

Fruits such as raspberries and blackberries are really bundles of tiny fruits clustered together. The raspberry has a hollow core so when you picked it is quite fragile. On the other hand blackberries have a sold core and are more robust fruits. Raspberries and blackberries are closely related and many hybrid berries have been created by crossing them and their offspring.

Each strawberry has on average 200 seeds. The part that we eat is technically not a fruit but a swollen stem and the things which look like seeds are all individual fruits each with a seed inside.

Although we refer to it as fruit, rhubarb isn't a fruit at all. It is an herbaceous perennial. We eat the stems of the rhubarb but it is considered to be a fruit as this is how it is generally used.

Choosing berries and rhubarb page is now completed on the website. Click here

Choosing Apples and Pears page is complete

I have now completed the first section on choosing fruit for your school vegetable patch - click here As usual any comments will be welcome.

Choosing fruit for the school plot

One of the problems of growing fruit with children is that it can take a while for new plants to become established and produce a crop of fruit.

The season is also long and this can cause young children to lose interest. The key here is to focus on the changing seasons. The children can look out for new leaf buds, buds coming into leaf and the shapes of the leaves, flower buds, opening flowers and the structure of a flower, pollination by the insects, the types of insects visiting the fruit trees/bushes, immature fruits forming, fruit maturing, harvesting, leaves changing colour and eventually falling from the tree. Some fruit bushes such as blackcurrants and gooseberries do not have obvious flowers which in itself is interesting.

Strawberries are probably the easiest of the fruits to grow. They mature in a much shorter time and can be grown in containers as well as in open ground. Alpine strawberries are a cultivated form of wild strawberries and are grown from seed.

Most fruits can be grown in containers if this is preferred but will need far more attention than those grown in open ground. Watering is especially crucial and could be problematic during school holidays. If you wish to grow fruit in containers check that the variety and rootstock is suitable for this type of cultivation.

Varieties should be carefully considered, however you wish to grow your fruit. Choose varieties or rootstock that are the right size for your plot, that don’t grow into trees too high for the children to appreciate them and also that don’t produce most of their fruit during the August holiday.

All fruit performs best if situated in a sheltered, sunny position in fertile soil. Soil preparation is important as the plants will remain in position for a long time.

Click here for more help with choosing fruit for your patch.

Choosing which vegetables to grow.

Do you have an area of land prepared for your vegetable patch but are unsure of what you should grow? I recently received an email from a school that had just this problem and so I am working on some pages on my website that I hope will offer some support.

Besides growing vegetables consider growing fruit, herbs, flowers and if space allows some shrubs or trees. Also consider the introduction of wildlife habitats and feeding stations.

Herbs, flowers, shrubs and trees will encourage a diversity of wildlife which will help control vegetable pests and ensure successful pollination.

Choice of what to grow will depend on several things:

• How much space do you have available?
• What age of children are you working with?
• How much time do you have to devote to the vegetable patch?
• Have you anyone who will take care of your plot during school holidays – especially during August?

Unfortunately August is a really busy time for harvesting crops. In order to minimise the effect of having vegetables ready for harvesting in August choose early ot late maturing varieties. If you can persuade someone to harvest crops such as beans during the August holiday then they should keep producing and provide some vegetables for harvesting in September.

Fruit and vegetable growth does not necessarily fit in to the schools year. Some crops that have a long growing season will need to be planted during one school year and harvested during the next. If this isn't desirable then you will need to omit growing crops that require a long season.

The pages that I am working on are intended to give you a starting point and help you make appropriate choices.

So far I have completed the advice on choosing vegetables other pages will be produced later. For vegetable advice click here

What about a few bulbs to brighten the veg patch?

hy not keep the children's interest by growing some bulbs. These can be grown in pots for the classroom or directly in the ground. I remember as a child growing a hyacinth in a special container which allowed me to watch the roots developing. I don't know if these containers are still available but any glass container will do that has a mouth that is small enough to hold the bulb just over the water level. Fill the container with water just to the point that it is barely touching the bottom of the bulb.

There are plenty of catalogues dropping through my door advertising offers and many more on the Internet.

One such catalogue was from Spalding bulbs so I decided to check out their web site to get a bit more information of what was on offer.

For their full range of bulbs click here