KCK Organic Teaching Gardens

On Friday, September 23, 2011, The KCK Organic Teaching Gardens conducted a second day of Fall Garden Planting Workshops at Argentine Middle School, in KCK. Students planted more spinach and lettuce seeds. Volunteer Kim Stanton, a veteran science teacher, from KCMSD, helped coordinator Mark Manning with the plantings. Many students talked about how this was the first time they had ever planted a garden.

Volunteer Kim Stanton carefully places tiny lettuce seeds into the hand of a 6th grade science student.

On Thursday, September 22, 2011, all 4th grade classes at Frank Rushton Elementary School participated in the KCK Organic Teaching Gardens “Indoor” Fall Garden planting.

4th Grade Students at Frank Rushton Elementary plant a Fall Garden indoors/

On Tuesday, September 20, over 100 6th grade science and social studies students, from Argentine Middle School, in KCK, participated in planting Fall Gardens at their school.

Argentine Middle School students plant spinach seeds.

On Monday, September 19, the 5th grade classes at ME Pearson Elementary School, in KCK, planted Fall Gardens of Radish, Lettuce and Spinach.

We identified all of the seeds we planted with our signs.

5th Grade Students carefully place the seeds into their rows.

On Thursday, September 15, we worked with 250 sixth grade students, from the science classes of Ms. Hughes.

On Tuesday, September 13, 2011, we worked with Science Teacher – Mr. Mike Scoville, and 200 of his 6th Grade Students. We planted 10 beds with spinach, radish, and lettuce seeds.

KCK Organic Teaching Gardens at Rosedale Middle School

"Lettuce"

Over the holiday weekend we spent time preparing our garden beds at Northwest Middle School where all 6th grade students will plant lettuce, spinach and radish.  We were away from the garden for 18-months due to loss of funding, but now that we have part of our funding back, we’re quickly preparing beds for fall gardens.  Above you see the before and after.

In September and March we plant our Fall and Spring Gardens.  These workshops start out in the classroom with a read-aloud about seeds and growing.  Mentors gives students seeds to examine and images of lettuce, spinach, radish, and cool weather crops.  Mentors explain the tools we use. Mentors explain that each seed is essentially a baby plant, waiting for water, sunshine, air, and healthy soil, to help grow into a plant. Students use tools to properly measure and carefully place seeds at the right depth and spacing.  Students create signs to mark the plants they have planted.  Students take turns watering their seeds. Mentors discuss the number of days before the plant can be harvested. This is recorded in their garden journals.

Planting a Fall Garden at Banneker Elementary

Home grown Sweet Potatoes, planted, harvested, and eaten by the Students.

A read-aloud of a biography about George Washington Carver introduces this workshop.  Students are asked to consider his life and achievements in science, farming, art and culture.  Students prepare and cook their own homegrown sweet potatoes.  Sweet potatoes can be prepared in many different ways, baked, mashed, pancakes, pie. To fit into our classroom time periods, we make, sweet potato fries. These fries are prepared in hot peanut oil, in the classroom, and are served with healthier ketchup (that doesn’t contain high fructose corn syrup.) After eating their fries, students are asked to compare the differences between their own “home made,” “home grown” fries, and those standard french fries, they may have consumed at one of the many McDonald’s restaurants in our community.  Students are asked to use their senses to compare differences in how the fries: look, feel, taste, sound, and smell.  Mentors record all comparisons on the class room chalk board.  Mentors then expand on this comparison to include the differences in how we grew our sweet potatoes, in our Organic Teaching Gardens, and how the farmers grow the one variety of potato McDonald’s buys, to ensure uniformity in their fries.  The books: Botany of Desire and Fast Food Nation are referenced for the this workshop.  Different farming practices are discussed. Variety is the spice of life. Why are farmers forced to use so many pesticides, herbicides and fungicides when growing their potatoes for McDonald’s?  What were the original teachings of George Washington Carver?