Seed-To-Table Garden Program Update
(Spring 2008)
The early signs of spring are around us so it must be time to start making plans for this year’s school gardens. This will be the 7th year for the Slow Food Seed-To-Table School Garden program. I am very excited about our plans for the gardens this year and the activities for Steele students. There will be many opportunities for parents to volunteer and be active in the garden with their child’s classroom. What follows is a working schedule of garden activities for the upcoming months.
Jan/Feb: At a staff meeting in January, I presented a new weather station that was purchased with proceeds from last year’s Youth Farmers’ Markets. Pat Duran had requested a weather station for her science classes. The station comes with a high/low 7-day digital thermometer, a barometer, a wind directional vane and a rain gauge. The thermometer and barometer will be housed in a ventilated locked box. As soon as the ground thaws, the station will be mounted on 4x4 posts just north of the compost area. (Volunteers needed to erect posts and mount weather station.)
March: Early spring is time to start seeds in the classrooms. I have constructed 6 light/heat tables from old bookcases that will start over 400 plants. Seeds will be started in the primary classrooms to coincide with their studies of the plant life-cycle and how things grow. The kids will start a variety of vegetable plants that will be used in the school gardens, sold at the House Tour Plant Sale and be taken home to start their own gardens. (Volunteers needed to help on planting days and daily watering checks.)
April: Hopefully by now the snows are gone and the beds are workable. We will need to spread compost in the beds, clean up debris from the winter storms and start some new garden projects. I recently visited student gardens in California and came home with many ideas for projects in the gardens. Also in April we will continue our Earth Day Cleanup tradition. Sometime during the week of April 14-17, we will have the kids cleaning up our school grounds. Finally, look in the April issue of 5280 for a featured story of the Slow Food movement and the Steele school. (Volunteers needed for Earth Day Cleanup and various garden preparations.)
May: The last month of the school year is a big planting month for the school gardens. By now the seedlings are ready to leave the classroom and get planted in the gardens. Most classrooms will spend time in the garden creating different theme gardens. We will also sell some of our plants at the House Tour Plant Sale on May 10. (Volunteers needed for classroom plantings and to work the Plant Sale.)
June/July/August: A popular tradition for the past 5 summers is the recruitment of Steele students and their families to help care for the gardens while school is out of seesion. Students receive a $25 stipend for 3-4 visits per week. Lessons are given in weeding, watering and composting. Look for an announcement later in April for how to apply for these summer internships.
Aug/Sept/Oct: The Youth Farmers’ Markets will return during the first week of the new school year. We will feature produce from the school gardens as well as great produce from local Colorado farms. (Volunteers needed to help run the markets.)
So as you can see we have busy schedule for the gardens this year. One of my goals this year is to increase the parent participation in the gardens. If you see an activity that interests you in the above lists, please send me your email and I will put you on a weekly mailing list of upcoming opportunities (dates and times). Also, if you have any ideas for projects in the gardens, please let me know and I will see if we can accommodate your plans.
Andrew Nowak, Slow Food Seed-To-Table School Garden Program
ajnowak@mindspring.com
Invitation to Become an Affiliate of the Edible Schoolyard
Slow Food Denver has been invited by Alice Waters and the Chez Panisse Foundation to submit an application for the Steele gardens to become an affiliate of the Edible Schoolyard Program (see www.edibleschoolyard.org). Last month I attended a 3-day workshop in Berkeley, CA, on building curriculum with school garden projects. Part of the workshop was a tour of the famed Edible Schoolyard on the campus of MLK Middle School and a meeting with Marsha Guerrero, the director of the program. Marsha was very impressed with Slow Food Denver’s school garden efforts in DPS and felt that the Steele program best suits the criteria for an affiliation with the ESY. We are very excited for this opportunity as it will provide national attention to our efforts, open possibilities for large scale grant funding and even bring Alice Waters to Denver to start important discussions concerning childhood wellness issues in DPS.
Andrew Nowak, Slow Food Seed-To-Table School Garden Program
ajnowak@mindspring.com
Seed-To-Table School Garden Wish List
If you find yourself cleaning out your garage or basement in the near future, please think of the school garden program before you throw anything away. If you have any of the following items, please let me know. If you have an item that might be fun to retrofit for a garden project, please contact me. Thanks for your support:
- used bike rims for a special construction project
- picnic tables and benches
- hand garden tools
- hoses
- 2” and 4” pots for seed starting
- light-weight metal or wooden shelves
- bags of potting soil
- metal fence posts and wire fencing
- tomato cages
Steele Gardens in the News
Mr. Andy and several Steele students were featured in a radio news feature that aired on KCFR Thursday, September 20, 2007. Listen now: News Feature: Student-Run Farmers' Markets .
