Term time wrap up and harvesting the garden

Recent weeks have been about wrapping up the school gardens for the school holidays.  Planning who will look after the various gardens and enjoying some of the amazing produce.
Pembroke School today had a harvest session.  Pulling out massive lettuces and cauliflowers and finding some delicious red strawberries.

Some weeding of plants that have gone to seed

Jade has been an amazing support in the Pembroke School Garden.  Her great ideas and commitment to come and participate in activities in the garden with the children is so valuable!

Here Jade helps harvest giant cauliflowers for children to take home

Fenwick School garden has also been abundant, providing a lot of produce for children to take home.

Some spring plants have boldly bolted and dwarf the children!!

 This week lots of weeding was completed

 Potatoes planted

 And the lovely big patch a potatoes for the Year 8 dinner was watered and they will be harvest later this week.  What a great treat.  Lucianne Brown who set up the Fenwick School Garden many years ago said that potatoes for the Year 8 dinner was what the Fenwick School Garden first grew.  And what a lovely tradition that has continued and the Year 8's get to eat delicious produce from their School Garden.

St Joseph's School last Garden club was spent creating gratitude cards.  St Joseph's School Garden co-ordinator Suzie has done an amazing job this year facilitating various speakers to come to the garden club and talk to the students, teaching them various skills.  They have had grandparents, orchardists, garlic experts, potato experts and great inspiring parent helpers like Louise McDougall who made awesome willow fencing.  So many cards were made.  Students also got to enjoy some Elderflower cordial as a refreshment afterwards

Duntroon school enjoyed a salad from their garden this week with a french dressing

 Duntroon School Garden Club has an amazing team of super moms, Janet, Mischa, Paige and Megan.  Their awesome ideas and great approach to gardening makes their garden so good.  Years of tending the soil has produced a rich fertile ground.  Doses of silage from local farmers has been appreciated at times as well as some Pukeuri Compost.  In the last week of Garden Club this year Mischa made a delicious rhubarb cordial that was enjoyed by all.

 Visiting gardener Hugh Coles helped weed the garden and had a talk about compost

 Paige did a floristry session with the children last week.

 Here is a an awesome student gardener.  Grace.  She is at every garden club, she shows great leadership skills with the younger students.  She is a pleasure to have in the garden as she is so keen to garden and helpful. Her favourite aspect of gardening is getting to eat the yummy produce.

Oamaru North School has been growing strong with each week.  We have made up a cool rap song about worms after we studied them up.  This week we harvested the lettuces, silver beet and chives from the garden and made salad wraps.

 When asked to show her surprise at the amazing vege platter, that parent help Natasha set up, Sky did a very good job!

 The array of vege and harvest from the school garden

 Students enjoyed layering up the produce in the wraps with some french dressing

 YUM

Waitaki Valley School got harvesting this week.  Students got given bags of fresh garden produce. Giant silver beet

 A salad was made for the group that was gobbled up within minutes

 A lot of watering this week.  Here Joshua fills the can.

 Students have grown seedlings in their new plastic hothouse.

Well it has been a wonderful year of 'Kids Growing'.  A massive thank you to all the people that have been so helpful and assisted in various ways.  Many thanks to the Department of Internal Affairs grants that will enable 8 of our active School garden clubs to get a $400 boost to their gardens next year.  A thank you to Tui for a large supply of compost, blood and bone and potting mix that the school gratefully received. A huge that you to all the parent helpers, the teachers that keep the gardens watered and weeded.  On behalf of the Waitaki Community Gardens it has been a pleasure and we look forward to another wonderful Kids Growing venture next year.  Seasons Greetings to you all.

Bianca

If you have a story to share or feedback please email me: biancamacneill@yahoo.com