After a year of blogging, I celebrated and took four weeks off! (Easy to do in Zone 7!) Now I am rested and ready to tell more stories from the school garden in 2013.
For now, the garden is cold, quiet and pretty empty. Still, work goes on….
We purchased a heavy-duty weatherproof canvas cover for our kitchen island. It held up great during last week’s wet weather.
Said wet weather (though not a great volume) brought us 600 gallons of free water!
I’ve been composing a letter to my Garden Beneficials, letting them know of opportunities to be involved from now until the end of the school year. Here’s the apron I had made for each of them.
One Beneficial made a contact with a local grape grower who offered to teach us to prune correctly. I’m hoping for our first crop this year! (Grapes are nice choices for the ubiquitous school chain link fence.)
These boxes were filled with bulbs from our Flower Power Fundraiser. I haven’t been exactly sure how to use this space, so filling them with crocuses, irises and lilies to offer a little color and life in early spring seemed like a good idea.
Beneficials and students added a couple bushels of daffodils to this hillside on the backside of the garden.
On the to-do list: set gopher traps in these garden entrypoints we found when planting the daffodils.
Six tables and eight benches were delivered right before Christmas break to the junior high garden. These were purchased with local PLDO funds through Mexi-American Crafts in Ramona. Here they are awaiting a work party! (Post on this big development to follow.)
Local tree trimmers and the rangers from Heise Park keep us supplied with free woodchips. We need to spread them about once a year. It’s amazing how improved the soil is four years later, after regularly laying these down to disintegrate (as well as to “finish” the garden and suppress weeds.)
I will write more about this later but I have also begun serving as a “school garden consultant” through San Diego Master Gardeners. I met with my first school—an elementary in Escondido–last week! Here are some of the key teachers (and fellow MG consultant) in front of their kindergarten “bed”! (TOO CUTE.)
What's not to like? 
I, too, am glad you’re back. Let’s all remember how wonderfully the “down” time of winter prepares and incubates and provides for the glory of the coming growing season. I’ve noticed lilac buds already swelling and bulbs sending up shoots–what wonders we see every day. Thanks, Tricia.
Dawn King
Beautifully said, Pastor Dawn!
Good to have a break! Things look like they are beginning to rock and roll for you. I love that you are consulting with other schools to spread the good news of school gardens!
*anna
It’s such fun talking with kindred spirits at other school and sharing/learning with them. I picked up two more schools this week, so I’ll be writing about it soon.
YOU ARE AWESOMENESS INCARNATE! Kids today are so disconnected from the Earth….thank you for helping reconnect
*anna
YOU are kindness personified! Thanks, always, for your feedback.
In a couple more years once my daughter is less dependent on me for her daily educational needs (re: homeschooling) I hope to engage w/ the kids in the community a bit more….Love your example and template!
*anna
I’m really glad to hear this as one of my stated goals is to help others in their efforts by sharing our experience!
Glad you are back! Just a comment on those dreadful gophers: although they may not eat daffodil bulbs or certain other plants, they sure tunnel around and undermine the root system. Their tunnels also drain off valuable water, causing the plants to be moisture depleted! Keep after them!
Anne
Yes, yes, yes! As a community, I think we should be experimenting with and sharing information on exclusion structures (pipe or pvc hoop systems, etc.) as I’m seeing what a barrier this is for people growing food in our town. More on this to come!
I love being kept up to date on the what’s happening!
The blog is so helpful that way…especially when we’re like ships passing at the MG meeting! Look forward to getting together next week!
T,
Welcome back…..I missed you. dad
As I missed your comments! 🙂