More garden planning

The first thing we ask when we decide whether or not to plant a plant in our garden next year is, "will someone eat it?"  This is the most important question to ask first because we might be wasting space and money, and if nobody is going to eat it, what is the point of planting it?

The second thing we ask when planning our garden is, "will it grow?"  For example, last year we tried a pineapple plant, but it didn't grow because it's too cold in Chicago; pineapples only grow in tropical places.  Another thing that would be be awesome to grow is cocoa beans.  We'd love to have chocolate, but since the climate is wrong, we won't buy seeds to grow them.

The third question we ask when planning our garden is, "do we have enough space?"  Once we've finished our wish list, we'll look at a map of our garden and plan it out.

Here are some of the highlights from our lists of plants we'd like to try in the spring.
Casimir: "Pumpkin is on my wish list because they are delicious, you can decorate them, and you can sell them and get a lot of money."
Ruler: "My plant I would like to grow is watermelon because although honeydew melon is good I think watermelon would top it off."

Rakeem: "Something on my wish list is honeydew melon because it's good and I think a lot of people will eat it."

Cecil: "One thing I would like to plant is a different type of corn that is different colors because people eat corn and it would be nice to try a different type."
Terrence: "A vegetable that is on my wish list is lunchbox red peppers, which I saw in the seed catalog.  I want this vegetable because I really like peppers and it would be nice to try something new."

Using seed catalogs to plan for next year

When the weather looks like this outside...

...it seems like a strange time to think about gardening, but now is the perfect time to use a seed catalog to start planning for what we'll plant in the spring.  Today, we looked through the seed catalogs wrote down the plants we thought we'd like to eat.  Once we finish these wish lists, we'll talk about which plants grow well in our climate, and decide which ones are best for us to grow.

Milaun browsed an online catalog

Here are some highlights from our wish lists:
Lorne: "I chose white yams because I tried them over Thanksgiving and they didn't taste like I thought they would."
Jamari: "I chose Walla Walla Sweet Onions because it's a weird name and it must mean they're really sweet."
Milaun: "I chose blueberries because they taste great and I like to wear blue outfits."
Alzario: "I'm looking into heirloom fruits and herbs because I thought that only vegetables came in heirloom varieties."

Jamari used a paper catalog that comes in the mail each winter.

Fixing the fence

Chickens dig in the ground to get food.  This can be a problem because they can accidentally dig under a fence and get into our neighbors' yard.  To fix this, we attached chicken wire to the bottom of the chain link fence.

Yesterday it was a very warm day.  Today was the complete opposite.  Ruler described the weather with one word: "frostbite."  Why do we always get winter days when we have Agriculture Task Force?

Cecil hammers in landscape staples while Terrence connects chicken wire to the fence with zip ties.

Cleaning the chicken coop

Mr. Dwyer told us we were cleaning the chicken coop today in agriculture.  Here are our first reactions:
Milaun: Cleaning the chicken coop is gross and flabbergasting because of all the feces.
Alzario: Cleaning the chicken coop is abnormal because many people don't clean out chickens, and it's not a pet.  Well, unless you live on a farm.
Jamari: Cleaning the chicken coop makes me want to scream when I first look at it because it's disgusting.
Toby: Cleaning the chicken coop is very dirty.
Lorne: It makes me feel weird because nobody likes having to touch poop.

Alzario is a little hesitant.

Milaun is not so sure he likes what he sees in there.

Then Mr. Dwyer challenged us to think about the something positive about cleaning the chicken coop.  Here are our second thoughts:
Milaun: Cleaning the chicken coop is benevolent because we are soon going to move them to their new home.
Alzario: Cleaning the chicken coop is good because we're keeping the chickens safe from disease, and the dirt won't freeze.
Jamari: Cleaning the chicken coop allows the chickens to have a safe and clean environment, and it allows the compost to grow when we put the poop in the compost.
Toby: Cleaning the chicken coop is astonishing because not many people get to do it.
Lorne: Cleaning the chicken coop is helpful for the compost.

Toby gets to work cleaning out the nest boxes.

Milaun sweeps the floor of the coop.  This will make great compost!

Mr. Dwyer and Toby put fresh straw in the nest boxes

Almost all clean in there.

Alzario and Jamari are proud of having done a difficult but important job.

All photos by Jamari, except the last one, which Mr. Dwyer took.

Indoor plants for the winter

In science class, the 6th graders are learning about autotrophs and heterotrophs.  Almost all plants are autotrophs, which means they can make their own food.  They make their own food from sunlight, which they turn into glucose.  Plants also need water, carbon dioxide, soil.

We are keeping plants in the windowsills of the library.  Ms. Lucy taught us about them.  Even though they are inside, houseplants still need sunlight, carbon dioxide, soil, and water.  Different plants have different adaptations that make them good inside plants.

Some of the plants are desert plants.  There is not much water where these plants are originally from, and the soil cannot hold much water.  So they need to be able to store water in their leaves.  The leaves of these plants feel fat compared to other plants.

Other houseplants are subtropical.  In their natural environment, these plants don't get much sunlight because the trees shade them.  That's why it's ok to have these plants inside where there is less sunlight.  Since it's rainy in their natural environment, we need to give them more water.

This plant's leaves feel hard.  Kalanchoe is the name of the plant. It grows in a dessert-like place.  We only have to water it once a month

This is a burro's tail.  The leaves have water inside them. It has to store water inside its leaves to save water because it comes from a dry place.  We only have to water maybe once a month.  If you put a leaf on soil it will grow roots and make another plant.

This is an aloe vera, or medicine plant. You can can use it to help sickness.  The plant will get nice and green if you give it just a little water, since it stores water in the leaves.

This is a hibiscus. It's a flowering pant which grows in the South.  It will need water once a week, and since it produces flowers we will need to give it fertilizer every once in a while.

Peperomia is a vine plant.

This is Sansevieria trifasciata, also called snake plant or mother-in-law's tongue.

Planting Bulbs

Bulbs need to be planted in the fall in order for them to grow in the spring.  They come back year after year.  They are often the first plants to show any green in the spring, and many bulbs have very beautiful flowers.  It's almost winter, so we're running out of time to plant.

Ruler, Terrence, and Cecil planted daffodils, allium, crocus, spanish bluebells, and bearded iris.  Below are bearded irises.

This is what the bearded irises will look like in the spring (we hope).  This is the picture from their package.

Mr. Dwyer is showing us how to prepare the soil by digging a hole to the right depth and adding our compost.

This is what spanish bluebell bulbs look like.  Ms. Lucy gave us these bulbs from her garden.  There are bluebells that are actually blue, but these will come up pink.

Once we've planted, Casimir and Ms. Lucy cover the ground with a layer of mulch.

Casimir learns about bulbs.

Sweet potato harvest

Sweet potatoes can look like ornamental plants but they are also food crops.  The plant above the ground is a vine with heart-shaped leaves.

Here's what the vine looks like in summer (this picture is from someone else's garden)

Here's what our vines looked like today.  The cold weather killed the vine, and the root is ready to eat.

Sweet potatoes and regular potatoes both grow underground and can look alike, but potatoes come from a modified stem and sweet potatoes come from the root.  When it gets cold, we can dig up the sweet potatoes.

This is the group digging up the sweet potatoes.

Milaun (grade 6) got a big one!

Javion's (grade 6) pride shows.

Look at the size of Toby's (grade 6) find!

Alzario (grade 8) can hardly believe how much we harvested.

We found some grubs in the soil, which can harm the sweet potatoes.  We fed them to the chickens.

The dead vines go to the compost.

The group shows off the harvest.

Toby likes to eat sweet potato pie.  Lorne likes sweet potato fries.  Jamari likes mashed sweet potatoes.  Milaun likes chopped sweet potatoes.  Alzario likes them in soup.  We'll sell our harvest at Friday's farm stand at 2:20pm dismissal.

(All photos taken by Jamari, grade 7)

Why we are smarter than Mr. Dwyer

While out doing our weekly agriculture work, we were adding chicken wire to the fence.  We started trying to attach it by twisting the chicken wire around the chainlink fence that was already there in order to cover the gaps in the fence.  We had to twist the wire all the way around and with the needlenose pliers, we couldn't get it to wrap around very easily.  Some of us were using our fingers, and that was painful.

Our (self-described) briliant strategist, Casimir, thought of a different type of wire that was easier to wind around the fence.  He knew about this from his dad's job.  Luckily, Mr. Dwyer had some on hand, and we used it to continue closing gaps in the fence.

Moving the chickens to their new area

The chickens are going to have a new space to run around.  It's right outside the windows to the lunch room so we'll be able to watch the chickens while we eat.  There is a lot of grass in the new area, and the chickens love to eat grass.  The compost will be inside their new area so they will be able to eat worms that come from the compost bin.

This is a picture of the students running around like the chickens.

There is a lot more space, and the new coop is very luxurious.  It's like a coop-mansion.  It will be very relaxing for the chickens.

Students pose in front of the new coop.

Today, we put final touches to the fences around the chicken run.  We need fences so the chickens won't get out and predators won't get in.

Milaun cut the chicken wire to size.

Javion works to secure one of the last gaps in the fence.

It was cold outside, and our hands were frozen!

Mulch and Compost

Today we moved compost from one bin to another.  We did this because we have a new area and the old compost bin was being decomposed by the compost.  The new area has more sun so it will decompose faster.

We gather fruits and vegetables that students don't eat and put them in the compost bin.  The bacteria break them down and we use it for soil.  Composting is a really good thing because we are reusing things that other people are throwing away like apple cores and eggs and other resources.

Ruler noticed a few living things that make their home in the compost bin like spiders, roly-polies and worms.  These help break down the compost.

We also spread mulch so that we can help the soil that is on the ground.  It helps keep the soil wet by holding rain like a sponge when it rains.  As it breaks down it gives nutrients to the soil.  It also prevents weeds from growing by blocking the sunlight.  It also makes the garden look nicer.

Moving compost and cleaning the coop

Today in ATF we moved some compost to our new area.  It will get more sun, and the chickens will be able to look for worms around the bin.

We also cleaned out the chicken coop.  We put the old straw and the poop into the compost bin.  We replaced the old straw with fresh clean straw.

What the students are missing

The students are away for summer break.  The garden isn't taking a break.  Here's a small sample of the produce:

Patty pan squash, baby swiss chard, strawberries, and Salisaw tomatoes