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

Guzzler - a Talking Story

Guzzler - Talking Story- (Windows only)

Aimed at KS1 (6 - 7 year olds) but could be used with Lower KS2 especially children learning difficulties.

Although not exactly a garden pig this resource would link in with a vegetable growing project.

Guzzler is a pig with a flaw in his character - he eats anything he can get his snout onto. But one day he goes too far and has to be taught a lesson.

The text employs repetition and provides opportunity to study how the vocabulary used conveys what the characters are feeling.

A PDF version is provided which can be printed for children to read away from the computer. This provides opportunity to compare electronic and paper based books. The talking story provides an opportunity for the children to become familiar with the use of an electronic text.

Guzzler is a fully illustrated and narrated talking story which can be used with a whole class, small group or by individual children.

The narration is activated by a sound button on each page. For children needing support with their reading they can attempt to read without the narration and then use the narration to check their accuracy or they can play the narration and listen before attempting to read unsupported.

As the narration is playing the words being spoken are highlighted in red.

Each page requires the reader to click on animal or object to activate a sound. To exit the story, at any point, tap the escape button on your keyboard.

Click here to read more

Introduce ICT into the School Vegetable Patch

For a couple of years now we have used the Grow Veg online planner to plan out our plot. This is a simple to use planning tool that could be used at all levels in school as well as for adult gardeners.

With GrowVeg.com it is easy to draw out your garden plan and decide how best to plant it. You will need to create a plan of your plot so that you can work out what you will grow and where. You will need to take into account that some plants will need more space than others and also consider which plants will grow together and what the needs of each type of plant are. In other words learn as much as you can about the plants that you intend to grow.The GrowVeg.com planning tool clearly shows how much space plants require and how to group them for maximum success, removing the need to look up planting distances and crop families.

 

It also alerts you if you try and grow a similar crop in the same position in subsequent years. Plans can be printed. As well as offering an online planning tool for a small annual subscription of £15/€17 (There is a North American version too) the website has advice and tips for growing all types of vegetables.

This planning tool has proved very popular in some schools and a school licence is available which allows a single account to be used by multiple pupils or groups of pupils in a class. This is basically the same as a single-user account but is marked for concurrent access. It costs £25 per year (which can be invoiced to the school if required). The teacher will usually set up the plan for the garden as a template that they then copy over for each child/group. The pupils are all logged on to the same account but open the plan allotted to them so that they don't save over each other's work. Setting it up this way enables the teacher to log on and get access to all the pupils' plans after the class. For more information use the contact button on their website. Please refer to this website when you do so.

A demo of the online planner can be viewed on their website and if you fancy having a go a 30 free trial is also available. To learn more click on the banner below. 

More suggestions for ICT activities are available on my website here

Cropper the Carrot Goes to the Show

If you teach very young children or have a young child at home and want a book linked to growing your own try this one.

Cropper the Carrot is the star of a book for all children aged 0-6 years. This charming story tells of Cropper's exploits as he and his friends get ready for the big show. 'Cropper the Carrot goes to the show' is a traditional children's book. It is beautifully written and illustrated in striking colour and is a firm favourite with children throughout the world. 
Cropper is charming, cheeky, quick to help others and an all round loveable rogue. Cropper gets into all sorts of scrapes because he is that kind of carrot.

The book is written by Phil McCann and illustrated by David Barnett. Phil has written for virtually every gardening publication in the UK and is the author of many gardening books. He has worked in every kind of gardening media and has appeared as a gardening presenter on screen and on radio so he knows his carrots.

Written, illustrated and printed in the UK, 'Cropper the Carrot goes to the show' appeals to all children who are starting to read, developing their reading skills and those who simply want to a enjoy a great story.

For more books linked to gardening click here

Classroom Activities - Minibeast life cycles

Your school vegetable garden can provide an excellent starting point for the study of mini-beast life cycles. I have devoted a section of my website to the wildlife that I have found on my allotment and in my garden.

The latest article features the life cycle of the large white butterfly. It includes a short video portraying the fascinating life cycle of this regular garden visitor.
Another article explains the life cycle of the ladybird.
Insect life cycle kits can also be bought so that children can have first hand experience of one of the wonders of nature.
This activity can link to the literacy, ICT and science curriculum.

New resources now available

Plant families and life cycles of plants:

Now available: The Cabbage Family

Now Available -The Roots Family
Price £25 + £2.50 postage and packaging within the UK (overseas postage will vary)
These add to the resources collection which already included Peas and Beans and The Onion Family

Save postage by ordering all four resources at £4.00 for p&p - saving of £6

These Smart Notebook and PowerPoint resources are rich in photographs showing every stage in the life cycle of the vegetables that the children may grow in their vegetable patch. There are four separate resources each focusing on a particular plant family. Each resource is accompanied by original high quality photographs, (approximately 120 in Peas and Beans resource), that can be used when making worksheets or within children's work. Each resource is provided in three formats: PowerPoint version 2007 - linked to a series of Smart Notebook activities PowerPoint version 97 - 2003 - linked to a series of Smart Notebook activities Smart Notebook - contains the content of the PowerPoint versions and activities.

If you would like the resources but don't have the software to run them? Download a free viewer Smart offer a Notebook viewer, (for Windows 2000 or later, Mac or Linux), that can be downloaded from the internet. The viewer will allow interaction with the resource but will not allow any editing. Likewise PowerPoint viewers can be downloaded. All are fully editable using the appropriate software allowing teachers the freedom to simplify or edit the resources for younger or less able children. The PowerPoint formats are each linked to a series of Smart Notebook activities.

More details and ordering information

click here

Free Literacy resources now available

Sequencing or writing caption for a gardening activity :

Link to writing instruction

Provide the children with a PowerPoint showing images of a gardening activity (e.g. Sowing seeds), one image to each slide, where the sequence of events has been jumbled.

Open the presentation in Slide Sorter view and ask the children to order the sequence. Once it is ordered the children can type sentences with the pictures to provide instructions for someone else to follow the process.

Click here for information on sowing seeds

Click here to access resources on the Literacy activities web page

Classroom Resources now available

Plant families and life cycles of plants:

Now available: Peas and Beans

Now Available -The Onion Family

Price £25 + £2.50 postage and packaging within the UK (overseas postage will vary

Coming soon Root Vegetables and The Cabbage Family

These Smart Notebook and PowerPoint resources are rich in photographs showing every stage in the life cycle of the vegetables that the children may grow in their vegetable patch.

There are four separate resources each focusing on a particular plant family. Each resource is accompanied by original high quality photographs, (approximately 120 in Peas and Beans resource), that can be used when making worksheets or within children's work. Each resource is provided in three formats:
PowerPoint version 2007 - linked to a series of Smart Notebook activities
PowerPoint version 97 - 2003 - linked to a series of Smart Notebook activities
Smart Notebook - contains the content of the PowerPoint versions and activities.
Like the resources but don't have the software to run them?
Download a free viewer

Smart offer a Notebook viewer, (for Windows 2000 or later, Mac or Linux), that can be downloaded from the internet. The viewer will allow interaction with the resource but will not allow any editing. Likewise PowerPoint viewers can be downloaded.

All are fully editable using the appropriate software allowing teachers the freedom to simplify or edit the resources for younger or less able children. The PowerPoint formats are each linked to a series of Smart Notebook activities.

More details and ordering information click here

IWB Resources

Resources to support school vegetable gardening projects

Plant families and life cycles of plants:

These Smart Notebook and PowerPoint resources are rich in photographs showing every stage in the life cycle of the vegetables that the children may grow in their vegetable patch.

There are four separate resources each focusing on a particular plant family. Each resource is provided in three formats:
· PowerPoint version 2007 – linked to a series of Smart Notebook activities
· PowerPoint version 97 – 2003 - linked to a series of Smart Notebook activities
· Smart Notebook - contains the content of the PowerPoint versions and activities · Original high quality photographs, (over 120 in Peas and Beans resource), that can be used when making worksheets or within children's work
All are fully editable using the appropriate software allowing teachers the freedom to simplify or edit the resources for younger or less able children. The PowerPoint formats are each linked to a series of Smart Notebook activities.

All resources can be used freely within the purchasing organisation and by teachers at home, for the purpose of lesson planning for use within the purchasing organisation.

The vegetables are grouped into four different 'families'

1) Peas and Beans (pea, broad bean, French bean and runner bean) - available end of November 2008
2) The Onion family (onion, leek, garlic, spring onion and shallot) - available January 2009
3) Root Vegetables (potato, parsnip, carrot, beetroot, radish, swede and turnip) - available January 2009
4) The Cabbage Family (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, sprout and kale) - available 2009
5) The Cucumber Family (cucumber, squash, courgette, marrow, pumpkin, melon) - planned
6) Salad Crops - planned

Click here to find out more.