Last day before spring break!

Well, this is our last day of classes just before spring break begins!  Lettuce is growing well, as is radish, spinach, and some sweet peas.  Our teachers Ms MacKenzie and Ms Gruden are volunteering their time over the spring break to keep plants watered. 
Tech Ed 9/10 class has agreed to help us by building a garden box so we can transplant lettuce from the seed starter tray to outside (thank you Mrs Burroughs!).  The construction of the box so far:

New Sprouts!

We have green onions, red lettuce and spinach are beginning to sprout!  Seedlings were planted January 25.  Yes, we know it is still winter and cool outside, and perhaps a bit too early as our little seedlings need sunshine to flourish, but this is how we like to begin our second semester!

Composting Bins!

This year we have added four more compost bins to our greenhouse area.  We are using a colorful flower to indicate to others which bin we are currently filling.  Not only is compost waste gathered from the Foods & Nutrition classes, but also from our Cafeteria program.  We are also encouraging teachers to have a collection bucket in their classrooms / prep areas to collect compostable waste during the run of a day rather than people putting it in a regular garbage bin.  Compost bins were attained from the City of Surrey.  Once the soil from the bins is ready, it will be used to fill a raised garden bed that will soon be installed!

Second Year Progress!!

Once again our school's greenhouse is being incorporated into our curriculum.  Home Economics teacher, Ms. MacKenzie, and Teacher-Librarian, Ms. Gruden, have decided to join forces and make use of this wonderful resource. This is the second year that they are teaching students some basic gardening skills. They are currently starting seeds in the greenhouse that will later be transplanted into our new raised garden beds. By late spring we will have herbs and salad greens to use in the Foods and Nutrition 9/10 classrooms.

In addition, we also want to educate students about composting, so we have set up an additional five bins to be used by the Home Economics class, the Cafeteria class, and the Chef Apprentice program. The rich compost will be used for the garden beds and in the greenhouse.

Thank you to West Coast Seeds for their generous donation of seeds for our salad garden!
Request for donations: We desperately need some organic garden soil for our raised beds and some gravel for the walkways. Please contact Ms. Gruden if you are able to donate these materials. Many thanks!

Radish & Basil

Just want to show off our radish that have been growing in a wooden window box - they look SO great!  Also, the basil is growing really well in the greenhouse.  This week we will learn how to properly pull off leaves from the bottom of the basil plant so the energy will go to the rest of the plant and the top leaves will grow and the plant will get taller. Perhaps PESTO will be on the kitchen lab menu for next week!

Growing Green

Although life in the greenhouse is quiet during spring break, everything is growing so well - ready to surprise everyone when they all return to school after the break!

Spring Break Transplanting Elves

We are super glad that we had helping elves come in over the spring break to help with all our little seedlings.  The timing was just right for EVERYTHING to be moved into larger homes.  Note to self for next time: time seeds more appropriately!  Fortunately, a few students were willing to come to school for a few hours one day over spring break and help mix up soil with mushroom manure and fill pots, and pots, and pots for transplanting bascially everything in the greenhouse.