Student Garden

7 years ago

Hi All, I was very active on garden web as RJ_Hythloday many years ago. I'm a teacher now and am starting a student run garden/plant club at my middle school. I'm making a list of supplies I would like to get through a HD grant, or small donations from local nurseries. These are some of the things I have thought of, can you see anything missing that I would likely need? It's been a decade since I had a backyard garden (I don't have a backyard). I teach 7th grade English in Newport News Virginia, but have a back ground in horticulture/plant science for my undergrad.

potting media

vermucilite

peat

guano

rubber maid containers

tools

pointed shovel

hand trowels

6 tine long handled manure fork for composting

potato fork (short handle)

Potted plants:

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)

Dragon Plant (Dracaena)

Snake Plant, Mother-in-Law’s Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata)

English Ivy (Hedera helix)

Algerian Ivy (Hedera algeriensis)

Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia)

Philodendron (various forms)

Devil’s Ivy, Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)

Various ferns (Autumn, Rabbit’s Foot, Maidenhair, etc.)

Flamingo Flower (Anthurium)

worms

leaf rake

leaf blower (reversible)

terra cotta pots

fair condition used pallets of similar size

heavy duty garden hose

weed pullers

lawn and leaf bags

tomato cages small to large

seed

rental of grass cutter (sod cutter)

PVC for hoop houses and low tunnels

PVC brackets 1/2 circle metal

small green house (shed) for starting plants

potting benches

raised bed materials (1x12 planks) and 2x4 (reinforcement) , corner brackets, wood stakes, hoophouse clips

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Comments (3)

Bob Loy
Original Author
7 years ago
some of my ideas for activities are

This will be the first year to start back up, I’m told a teacher
ran one many years ago here. My goals depend upon contribution
levels. I will canvas local stores for donations as well. If
you know of any local nurseries that have helped with this sort of
thing in the past that would be great.

I would like to start with potted plants in the fall. I
can buy one house plant, and since they are always crowded, split it many
times. I want to get medium terracotta pots that the students could
decorate, and eventually take home. I am also considering that if a
teacher wanted a plant for their classroom they could sign up and we
would deliver them after a month or so. I will get some LED overhead lamps to
dedicate a shelf or two for starting plants inside.

I would love to get back into vermiculture and keep a worm bin
in my classroom, kept under a table. I have done extensive
composting when I had a backyard garden and kept worm bins in my garage.
I even took a worm bin to some boy scout camps, and gave presentations on
sustainability.

I would like to compost here on the school grounds as well
using a pallet bin method I have used before. I would like to involve the
cafeteria into sorting out some of the compostable waste as well, starting
small to get them on board. A leaf blower that reverses would aid
in shredding OPBL other peoples bagged leaves that I will collect and bring to
the school.

I plan on preparing raised beds this fall to plant
in the spring. My past experience with gardening in VA is that
raised beds are much more manageable with the amount of rainfall we get.
One thing that would absolutely depend on donations is a hoop houses using
plans that require PVC and low raised tunnels.

The final stages of the student garden would be a fund
raiser with potted flowers for Mother’s Day and a few Saturday mornings at one
of the local farmer’s markets selling produce from our garden.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
7 years ago
You aren't posting in the right place :-) This is not a gardening or plant forum but one that was intended to gather input on how the forums work or could be improved (read the blurb under the forum title).

Try posting in the Gardening With Kids forum or even Housplants to get some proper feedback.
Bob Loy thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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Nora ... I echo the admiration of other comments for you efforts ... I'm of the generation when our school had a Victory Garden and have very happy memories, not to mention fortifying familial gardening pattern for a lifetime of enjoyment. May I add to the list of educational benefits to the children, the cross-generational habit/culture .... also the example of starting small [workable money/ time/ experience/ manpower-wise] is HUGE! The children will really feel the importance of their contribution if the scale is small. Visual aides are also valuable ... both for children and adults/community to see the scope of the plan. Re: soil tainted with toxic materials ... raised beds are great, but the pathways will kick up dust and airborne problems unless well-mulched. Because the oldsters and youngsters may be already at risk to airborne toxics. Again, a reason to start small, so as to throughly cover all the bases. Even if the soil test comes back OK/CLEAR, the fact that construction waste was dumped on the site is a major argument in favor of raised beds. Would you be able to use those rocks in the picture for some of the raised beds? They would be so pretty, not to mention FREE!
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albert_135 　 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
7 years ago
Bob Loy, could you explain how you came to be posting here?

Please.

Pretty please with...nm...
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Student Garden

Comments (3)

Bob Loy
Original Author

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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albert_135 　 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.

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Student Garden

Comments (3)

Bob LoyOriginal Author

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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albert_135 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Bob Loy
Original Author

albert_135 　 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.