After School Program- Gardening Club!

[Rachel Turner]

Hello All!
I am a Teachers Aide in Pasadena, Texas... I also work with an after school program. My after school kids and I are starting a Gardening Club! We have the most beautiful..... well we HAD the most beautiful Atrium and I am tired of it looking so drab and lifeless. A teacher about 4 years ago used to take care of it, he left and it hasn't been touched since. It has so much potential, and my kiddos are so excited about this new project. I want it to be Student focused, but definitely teacher led. Meaning that I want them to be able to do most of the work. If any of you have any tips or experience with things like this please HELP!!!!

I don'e even know where to start, but I am ready to dig in!!! There are about 4 raised flower beds (will post pictures).
Here are some of my initial review of issues:
The soil is so dried out. There are weeds everywhere (but I would need something that is natural or organic that wouldnt hurt the kids to be around). Ant beds everywhere.

Good Things I see:
We have a green house that needs some TLC, we have the tools that were left over from the previous gardening teacher, we also have use of multiple garden hoses and connections to water. There is plenty of sunlight and also shady trees.

I'll post pictures because it is honestly a piece of space that could have so much potential.
Please please please let me know if you can give any advice
Thanks
Rachel

 

[Pablo]

If I was you, I'd start from scratch. I'd put all the beds somewhere safe and all the weeds/grass down. With everything mowed down, I'd place the beds near the greenhouse. Looking at your 3rd picture, I'd place it between the greenhouse and the tree that is closest to the raised bed, place them a bit closer together. I don't really think the shade is a good thing when growing plants, of course, it depends on what kind of plant, but you want to allot of sunlight. You might want to get higher beds though. Soil shouldn't be a problem, just make sure the beds are leveled and you can find some good raised bed soil at lowes. Soil shouldn't really mater when growing vegtables/flowers and it wont harm your kids.

I don't know what is in your 6th picture but it doesn't look appealing so I say you should get rid of it. It's not necessary to put a cage around a plant unless you're in a forest full of deer. The things in your last 2 pictures need some cleaning but you could grow partial shade flowers in there and make beautiful floral arrangements.

My highschool has invested quite a bit into horticulte and we even got our own classes, which sadly Im not apart of . We have allot of beds that take up an entire lot, maybe you can draw inspiration from ours. I couldnt take an actual picture so I just got this off of google earth. Good luck!!

 

[MaryMary]

@Rachel Turner, Welcome to the forum!!

How old are the kids, and do you know your plant hardiness zone? If you do not know your zone, you can find it here: http://www.plantmaps.com/
Once you've found your zone you can enter it in your user profile page (here)

Since you want the kids to do most of the work, the weeds can be removed by hand. Digging and weeding takes time, but they'll get a sense of accomplishment from it. (I always do! Oh, the joy when it's done!!)

As far as the soil being dried out, you'll want to add more organic matter to hold water and enrich the soil. I'm not really sure what's readily available in TX. We do have a couple regular posters from there, hopefully one will find this thread before too long.


That said, you may want to contact your local master gardener's club, and talk to them. I found this with a quick search, and I believe they would be helpful.

Master Gardeners answer gardening questions on the phones (713.274.0950) and in person, and maintain testing and demonstration gardens at the AgriLife Extension office located in Bear Creek Park. The Master Gardeners at Precinct 2, a satellite group of Harris County Master Gardeners, maintain the Genoa Friendship Garden, a production, testing and demonstration garden located at the Harris County Precinct 2 Road Camp located in Pasadena, TX. Master Gardener training classes, conducted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, are offered periodically in the greater Houston area.

Master Gardeners hold six plant sales a year in Harris County to raise funds to assist AgriLife Extension in its educational mission. Specifically, the funds are used to support the school Cylinder Gardening program that teaches youth to raise their own vegetables, promote the Junior Master Gardener program in Harris County, maintain the gardens at both locations, provide educational workshops and informational displays to the public and a variety of other educational activities. http://hcmga.tamu.edu/public/About.aspx

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If you want to add a little bit of biology and environmental science to the horticulture classes, you could always plant a pollinator/butterfly garden and learn about the Monarch caterpillar's metamorphosis into butterflies.

http://www.livemonarch.com/free-milkweed-seeds.htm
Send a self addressed, stamped envelope for Milkweed or mixed seeds appropriate for your area to:

Live Monarch - Seed Campaign 2017
2901 Clint Moore Road, Suite 198
Boca Raton, Florida 33496


Live Monarch will send 15+ Butterfly Garden seeds including Milkweed and growing instructions. Even if you can not afford a contribution, just mail in a self addressed stamped envelope, one per household. If you want extra seeds, include a dollar, and they'll send 50 extra seeds for every dollar you send.

Also, at their website, if you scroll down to the order form, you'll see "Seed Types - Choose best for your area," and there is an option for "Mixed - 25 types for all pollinators, includes Milkweed too." (150 seeds plus instructions for $3.00)
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Personally, I'd leave all the beds where they are. If a previous teacher had them looking good, work and dedication that will get them that way again. No reason to delay the kiddos in their eagerness to get started!!

Why is there a "cage" there, though? (If there is no known use for it, do you think the school would let you put a compost pile there? Properly maintained, it wouldn't smell or attract vermin.) The decomposition process could be another lesson.

If I was you, I'd start from scratch

Pablo, note that she said "Teacher's Aide" and "after school program." I'm sorta thinking that start from scratch with all new soil is not really in the budget. I don't know what the budget is, but if she tries to buy new soil for all those beds, it probably won't leave much for new plants and tools. My mother was a teacher, and many's the time she complained about teacher's wages. In spite of being the ones that teach our children, they are one of the lowest paid professions. (It's a labor of love - they make less than the garbage men. )

 

[Pablo]

@Rachel Turner, Pablo, note that she said "Teacher's Aide" and "after school program." I'm sorta thinking that start from scratch with all new soil is not really in the budget. I don't know what the budget is, but if she tries to buy new soil for all those beds, it probably won't leave much for new plants and tools. My mother was a teacher, and many's the time she complained about teacher's wages. In spite of being the ones that teach our children, they are one of the lowest paid professions. (It's a labor of love - they make less than the garbage men. )

What I meant by start from scratch was take all the raised beds and put them somewhere when she gets rid of the weeds then rearrange them, I recommended that she mowed them down to make everything look like grass but there could be other ways of removal. Yeah, it sucks that teachers don't make too much money. It still wouldn't be too much money to get soil and seeds. A bag of raised bed soil mix at lowes is around 10$ and one bag looks like it would be enough to fill up one bed, along with the seeds which should be really cheap. Fundraising would be a good choice if she could work out something with the school. She could send out a request of items to the student's parents because they'll probably be willing to help