Thursday, February 5, 2009
tomatos
In science we are doing a project in our classroom.We have soil a b c and d in four containers in the grow lab.Soil a is the best for growing for now.Soil b is the second best its dry soil.Soil c is like clay its not that bad.But d is a desertess wasteland of sand and rocks.Its a very fun experiment.We put two tbsp. of water in each.We planted three tomato seeds in each.Now we have them up to four inches in one plant it was so cool.You can find soil a in Vermont.Soil b comes from rivers.Soil c comes from a mixture of soil and clay.Soil D comes from a sandy,rocky beach.I think that other kids at different schools shold try this to THE END!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Natural Resources?
What are natural resources? They are the things from the earth that are always going to be there for us, if we treat them properly.
In class we've been learning about natural resources. High on the list is Soil, one of the most needed resources. It grows our food and helps plants that make cotton and milk. Milk also is from the soil because the cow eats the grass that comes from the soil.
A few days ago we tested to see how well different soils respond to water. Here are the types of soil. We will tell the things we noticed about the soils and you can make a guess at which one held the most water.
Soil A: not completely decomposed, a lot of organic matter, soft and fluffy, it can't be rolled into a snake
Soil B: sandy, gravely, not much organic matter, like beach sand
Soil C: like play dough, lots of clay and silt (small particles), can be rolled into snake
No surprise, Soil C won. It held 18 teaspoons of water. Most of the water puddled on top. This happened because there was so much clay in the soil. Soil A leaked on the 4th teaspoon. We think it was because it had too much organic matter and no clay so it dripped. Though if you wanted to plant a garden Soil A would be the best idea. B leaked on the 15th tea spoon. The sand particles in it left too much space for the water to go through.
Soil is something we need. From clothes to food.
I.F.M and C.R.H
In class we've been learning about natural resources. High on the list is Soil, one of the most needed resources. It grows our food and helps plants that make cotton and milk. Milk also is from the soil because the cow eats the grass that comes from the soil.
A few days ago we tested to see how well different soils respond to water. Here are the types of soil. We will tell the things we noticed about the soils and you can make a guess at which one held the most water.
Soil A: not completely decomposed, a lot of organic matter, soft and fluffy, it can't be rolled into a snake
Soil B: sandy, gravely, not much organic matter, like beach sand
Soil C: like play dough, lots of clay and silt (small particles), can be rolled into snake
No surprise, Soil C won. It held 18 teaspoons of water. Most of the water puddled on top. This happened because there was so much clay in the soil. Soil A leaked on the 4th teaspoon. We think it was because it had too much organic matter and no clay so it dripped. Though if you wanted to plant a garden Soil A would be the best idea. B leaked on the 15th tea spoon. The sand particles in it left too much space for the water to go through.
Soil is something we need. From clothes to food.
I.F.M and C.R.H
Monday, November 3, 2008
Garden Reflections: October 16, 2008
Harvesting Salad
“We made salad with spicy flowers and a little broccoli and a little lettuce. The flowers made the salad lovely. I enjoyed cutting the flowers. The flowers were a deep red and orange.”
Installing Erosion control & Walkways
“In garden program today we started to make walkways to keep the dirt from getting eroded. To do that we had to put big pieces of wood where people kept squishing the soil. To keep the pieces in place we used short lengths of rebar. To put the rebar into the wood we drilled big holes in the wood. I thought that gardening today was really awesome!”
“Today in garden time I helped drill holes in wood that we put in the garden to step on. I can’t wait until tomorrow because I get to see them done. [Our school custodian] Kevin, [some other fourth graders], and I all helped drill the holes. We had to drill four holes altogether. There were two pieces of wood and each piece got two holes. I had sooooooooo much fun! Because I’ve never used a drill before and they’re very powerful.”
“Today in garden time I helped [our school custodian] Kevin drill holes….I was helping Kevin it started to rain. I also used a sledgehammer to hammer rebar.”
“Today at garden time I drilled a hole in a wooden block. The blocks were as long as a lunch tray or a little bit longer. The drill I used had a handle and a trigger on it. The wooden block that I drilled had one hole on each end of the block. “
Building a Composting System
“Today in garden time I got to use a post hole digger and a really big drill. I dug out a lot. I dug out a huge brick. It was really fun!”
Exploring the Herb Garden
“Today in garden time I got to see the herb garden. I got to pick cosmos and zinnias. I got to pick lemon balm. I got to put the flowers in two vases. I got to draw two cosmos flowers on one stem. It came out pretty good. The flowers were a light pink. I colored my flowers pink.”
Counting Farm Stand Money
“I counted [our farm stand] money with [another boy]. I got really wet because I didn’t bring my raincoat. Our garden teacher helped us make room in the shed so we wouldn’t get the money wet. The total is $156.05. I’m pretty sure it’s not right. In school I am going to check on the calculator.”
“Today I counted money [from our farm stand] to send to [our partner school in] Haiti…”
Building a Composting Box
“Today in the garden we made a compost box. It was so fun. I used a big thing called a post hole digger and a spade to dig holes. It was surprisingly treacherous and hard for just getting dirt excavated and transferred into piles away from holes and ditches.”
Making Green Tomato-Apple Crisp
I was surprised when Ms. White announced that we could make green tomato and apple cobbler. I helped make a crumbly topping. It had cinnamon, oats, butter, maple syrup and flour in it… Maria pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees. Then she helped my friends and me with our jobs… Then we wrote the directions for the [crisp]. This was a great experience and it makes me think of all the foods that don’t seem like they would go well together can make something delicious! I feel so lucky that we have people to help us in this field of education!
“My group made some apple and green tomato crisp. We got to do it ourselves . It was fun because we cut apples… We made a [recipe] so we could make it at home.”
“Today at garden time Maria took four people to make apple crisp with green tomatoes. The apples were from Deer Ridge Farm. We used about 25 tomatoes in the crisp. I thought the topping was the best. The topping was made of maple syrup and oats… I really enjoyed garden time today!”
“Today in garden time I made green tomato apple crisp with [some other students]. First we washed and cut apples. Then you chop and wash green tomatoes. We put the apples and the tomato in a small bowl. We mixed the apple and tomato and then put it into a short glass pot. [My friend] made the topping with maple syrup, cinnamon, oats and something else. Then we put it in the oven.”
“We made salad with spicy flowers and a little broccoli and a little lettuce. The flowers made the salad lovely. I enjoyed cutting the flowers. The flowers were a deep red and orange.”
Installing Erosion control & Walkways
“In garden program today we started to make walkways to keep the dirt from getting eroded. To do that we had to put big pieces of wood where people kept squishing the soil. To keep the pieces in place we used short lengths of rebar. To put the rebar into the wood we drilled big holes in the wood. I thought that gardening today was really awesome!”
“Today in garden time I helped drill holes in wood that we put in the garden to step on. I can’t wait until tomorrow because I get to see them done. [Our school custodian] Kevin, [some other fourth graders], and I all helped drill the holes. We had to drill four holes altogether. There were two pieces of wood and each piece got two holes. I had sooooooooo much fun! Because I’ve never used a drill before and they’re very powerful.”
“Today in garden time I helped [our school custodian] Kevin drill holes….I was helping Kevin it started to rain. I also used a sledgehammer to hammer rebar.”
“Today at garden time I drilled a hole in a wooden block. The blocks were as long as a lunch tray or a little bit longer. The drill I used had a handle and a trigger on it. The wooden block that I drilled had one hole on each end of the block. “
Building a Composting System
“Today in garden time I got to use a post hole digger and a really big drill. I dug out a lot. I dug out a huge brick. It was really fun!”
Exploring the Herb Garden
“Today in garden time I got to see the herb garden. I got to pick cosmos and zinnias. I got to pick lemon balm. I got to put the flowers in two vases. I got to draw two cosmos flowers on one stem. It came out pretty good. The flowers were a light pink. I colored my flowers pink.”
Counting Farm Stand Money
“I counted [our farm stand] money with [another boy]. I got really wet because I didn’t bring my raincoat. Our garden teacher helped us make room in the shed so we wouldn’t get the money wet. The total is $156.05. I’m pretty sure it’s not right. In school I am going to check on the calculator.”
“Today I counted money [from our farm stand] to send to [our partner school in] Haiti…”
Building a Composting Box
“Today in the garden we made a compost box. It was so fun. I used a big thing called a post hole digger and a spade to dig holes. It was surprisingly treacherous and hard for just getting dirt excavated and transferred into piles away from holes and ditches.”
Making Green Tomato-Apple Crisp
I was surprised when Ms. White announced that we could make green tomato and apple cobbler. I helped make a crumbly topping. It had cinnamon, oats, butter, maple syrup and flour in it… Maria pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees. Then she helped my friends and me with our jobs… Then we wrote the directions for the [crisp]. This was a great experience and it makes me think of all the foods that don’t seem like they would go well together can make something delicious! I feel so lucky that we have people to help us in this field of education!
“My group made some apple and green tomato crisp. We got to do it ourselves . It was fun because we cut apples… We made a [recipe] so we could make it at home.”
“Today at garden time Maria took four people to make apple crisp with green tomatoes. The apples were from Deer Ridge Farm. We used about 25 tomatoes in the crisp. I thought the topping was the best. The topping was made of maple syrup and oats… I really enjoyed garden time today!”
“Today in garden time I made green tomato apple crisp with [some other students]. First we washed and cut apples. Then you chop and wash green tomatoes. We put the apples and the tomato in a small bowl. We mixed the apple and tomato and then put it into a short glass pot. [My friend] made the topping with maple syrup, cinnamon, oats and something else. Then we put it in the oven.”
Garden Reflections: October 9, 2008
Harvesting at the UVM Farm
“On Thursday [some friends] and I went to the University of Vermont Extension farm with Maria to harvest some local food. First off we took some scissors and put them in our pockets. Then we went down to pick some eggplant. It was tough to pick them because they grew spikes… I had a great time at the UVM farm because we had a really fun time harvesting with our friends.”
“Today I went to UVM Farm for garden time...I liked picking peppers because I picked like 10-25 peppers. I liked [one] of the peppers because it was 7-8 inches tall!... Garden time is fun because you get to go lots of places and do fun activities..
Exploring the Herb Garden, etc.
Today in garden time a made a sachet. It smells really good. I also washed purple and green greens. When I tried a radish, I almost had no tongue, it was so spicy. It was my favorite garden time because I got to see what the garden looks like after a frost.”
Building a Compost System
“At garden time today I started to make a compost [bin]. First, I brought posts to where the compost will be. Second, we collected flags for markers for where the post will be. They were one foot from the school and three feet from post to post. When we dug the holes in the ground they were 16 inches deep.”
“Today in garden time we started working on making a compost [bin] for the garden… Deer Ridge Farm let us borrow a [post] hole digger to dig big holes to put in the wooden posts. [Our school custodian] Kevin helped us dig holes and get rocks out of the way. I learned that digging is very hard work, a lot harder than it looks. While my friend was digging she hit some bricks and Kevin said he thought they were from when they build the school. I thought that was pretty cool. When my group was done I felt tired and excited. I can’t wait until next week to do the next garden project!!!”
“Today in garden time we made a compost system! We had 8 fence posts to start out with. We had a [post] hole digger. WE all got to measure a foot away from the [school] wall. Then we matched a yard to the foot and put a flag in the corner where the yard and the foot meet. Then we would put a flag at the end of the yard. Then we would put a flag at the end of the yardstick that we measured the foot with. Then a yard to a yard and put a flag where the corner is where the yards meet and then we put a flag at the end of the yard so it makes a square. We did this three times.”
“Today at garden time we started to make a new composting system. In the new system there are three sections. The first section is where trash waste [organic waste] goes. The second section is where the stuff that has already been in the first part and has already started to decompose goes. The third part is the totally decomposed part so the section 2 goes into section 3.”
Pulling Tomato Stakes
“Today in garden time… I pulled [tomato stakes]. On one post the tip broke. I said to Ms. White, “It’s going to take a mining complex to get that thing out!” I grabbed a digging fork. It took me three minutes to get the tip out.”
Preparing for Dismissal-time Farm Stand
“Today is garden groups we washed and prepared vegetables and fruits such as radishes, peppers, eggplant and chard. First we put them in organized piles. Then we brushed off dirt with our hands, and then we soaked them in water and finally we put them back in bags. It was a very fun project!”
Working the Farm Stand
“Today in garden club I was doing the farm stand all by myself… What I learned by doing the farm stand by myself was how to count money. I felt very, very proud of myself for doing that all by myself. I think that when garden club starts again I am definitely going to do it again I think garden club is really, really fun!”
“On Thursday [some friends] and I went to the University of Vermont Extension farm with Maria to harvest some local food. First off we took some scissors and put them in our pockets. Then we went down to pick some eggplant. It was tough to pick them because they grew spikes… I had a great time at the UVM farm because we had a really fun time harvesting with our friends.”
“Today I went to UVM Farm for garden time...I liked picking peppers because I picked like 10-25 peppers. I liked [one] of the peppers because it was 7-8 inches tall!... Garden time is fun because you get to go lots of places and do fun activities..
Exploring the Herb Garden, etc.
Today in garden time a made a sachet. It smells really good. I also washed purple and green greens. When I tried a radish, I almost had no tongue, it was so spicy. It was my favorite garden time because I got to see what the garden looks like after a frost.”
Building a Compost System
“At garden time today I started to make a compost [bin]. First, I brought posts to where the compost will be. Second, we collected flags for markers for where the post will be. They were one foot from the school and three feet from post to post. When we dug the holes in the ground they were 16 inches deep.”
“Today in garden time we started working on making a compost [bin] for the garden… Deer Ridge Farm let us borrow a [post] hole digger to dig big holes to put in the wooden posts. [Our school custodian] Kevin helped us dig holes and get rocks out of the way. I learned that digging is very hard work, a lot harder than it looks. While my friend was digging she hit some bricks and Kevin said he thought they were from when they build the school. I thought that was pretty cool. When my group was done I felt tired and excited. I can’t wait until next week to do the next garden project!!!”
“Today in garden time we made a compost system! We had 8 fence posts to start out with. We had a [post] hole digger. WE all got to measure a foot away from the [school] wall. Then we matched a yard to the foot and put a flag in the corner where the yard and the foot meet. Then we would put a flag at the end of the yard. Then we would put a flag at the end of the yardstick that we measured the foot with. Then a yard to a yard and put a flag where the corner is where the yards meet and then we put a flag at the end of the yard so it makes a square. We did this three times.”
“Today at garden time we started to make a new composting system. In the new system there are three sections. The first section is where trash waste [organic waste] goes. The second section is where the stuff that has already been in the first part and has already started to decompose goes. The third part is the totally decomposed part so the section 2 goes into section 3.”
Pulling Tomato Stakes
“Today in garden time… I pulled [tomato stakes]. On one post the tip broke. I said to Ms. White, “It’s going to take a mining complex to get that thing out!” I grabbed a digging fork. It took me three minutes to get the tip out.”
Preparing for Dismissal-time Farm Stand
“Today is garden groups we washed and prepared vegetables and fruits such as radishes, peppers, eggplant and chard. First we put them in organized piles. Then we brushed off dirt with our hands, and then we soaked them in water and finally we put them back in bags. It was a very fun project!”
Working the Farm Stand
“Today in garden club I was doing the farm stand all by myself… What I learned by doing the farm stand by myself was how to count money. I felt very, very proud of myself for doing that all by myself. I think that when garden club starts again I am definitely going to do it again I think garden club is really, really fun!”
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Garden Day: October 2nd, 2008
The Youth in Agriculture Program, which is located at the University of Vermont Extension Farm, has been donating extra vegetables to Green Street School for our Thursday Farm stand as a fundraiser for our Garden Program. The students LOVE to make taste tests for customers, debate pricing, count money and make change! They learn a lot of skills from this project. This week we took some students to the UVM Farm to harvest the vegetables they would add to our school garden harvest for sale at the farm stand. Other activities included maki
ng herb sachets, harvesting tomatoes, planting garlic, and making more tomatillo salsa. Here are some quotes from students’ writing about their trip to UVM:"I went to the University of Vermont Extension Farm near Fort Dummer today. We got to harvest all different varieties of peppers, eggplants and kale. The kinds of peppers we harvested were Lipstick Green Pepper, Hungarian Round peppers and another kind of green pepper. We also got to pick ruffly kale and big leaf kale."
"Today at garden time I went with some other children to UVM Extension Farm. There we harvested lots of vegetables such as radishes, peppers, kale, edamame, basil and eggplant. It was a great feeling to be out in the field with all of the plants and learning about each one. I would like to do it
again.""[At the UVM Farm] I picked a big eggplant. It was really big. Then we got to go into the greenhouse. In there we got to pick seeds out of a sunflower."
Garden Reflections: September 18, 2008
This week is the Kids' Localvore Challenge. Students are trying to eat as many local foods as possible. We added to our list with our harvests from the garden. Today in garden time the fourth graders did a variety of activities. Some made herb tea from lemon balm and lemon verbena. Others made green salsa from tomatillos, jalapenos and sorrel. We made canapes with herbed butter and cream cheese (herbs from the garden), cinnamon basil jelly made last week during garden time, and edible flowers and herbs. Another group canned dilly beans. Other students worked to prepare the Thursday farmstand for dismissal time: harvesting and cleaning vegetables, pricing them, and counting money.
“Today during garden time I helped picked lemon balm which I learned was not yellow but green and looked like basil. We used lemon balm to decorate the bread that we gave to teachers and that we had for snack. I never knew what lemon balm looked like or had never tasted it until today.”
“Today at school I got to prepare our class snack. [A friend] cut the bread into fine pieces. [the rest of us] picked herbs and edible flowers to put on the bread with cream cheese… I really enjoy working in the garden and cooking a lot of recipes!”
“At garden time I made fancy ou d’ourves. While I was spreading cream cheese on one of the pieces of bread a reporter from the Brattleboro Reformer and a photographer came and took pictures. The reporter asked me lots of questions about the localvore challenge. He also tried some of our basil jelly that we made last week… I had an awesome time in the garden!”
“Today I picked lemon balm leaves to make tea. We had to boil water so the tea is hot.”
“When we were making dilly beans we saw a praying mantis. I’ve never seen one before until now. I was mind bottled [mind boggled?] It was brown like a stick, and its wings were green like green grass.”
“Today we harvested tomatoes, tomatillos, and peppers. We also made bouquets of lemon-scented flowers. I liked harvesting for the frost.”
Garden Day: September 11th, 2008
We are now in our second harvest season at the Green Street School Garden. The fourth graders get 45 to 50 minutes of garden time every Thursday, in between band lesson pull-outs. We are grateful for support from our school administration, custodial staff, and money from a parent fundraiser which has made it possible to hire a garden coordinator, Maria Chambers who works part time, teaching students in the garden and doing other tasks needed to keep the garden going. Below are some excerpts from students' writing about their day in the garden on September 11, 2008.-Laura White, 4th grade teacher
“At garden time I made signs and prices for the food.”
“We made bouquets and I had a lot of fun.”
“Today in the garden I picked some flowers for Jody (school counselor). I think that picking flowers is great. I LOVE IT!!!!! I hope we do this more often.”
“Today in garden I helped sort out the foods for the farm stand. It was really fun because we sorted out peppers, onions, turnips, cucumbers and a lot more.”
“I enjoyed picking flowers and making them into a beautiful bouquet. I gave them to Rhonda because she helped me through 2nd grade. I used orange, purple and red flowers. Rhonda really liked it and that made her smile and that made me really happy.”
“I made a bouquet for the fifth grade teacher Ms. Brin Tucker. My bouquet had zinnias, dill, and a seedy pink and red type of flower and a white flower with a yellow center… Ms. Tucker was very
happy with it.”“Today we picked nice juicy cucumbers with tons of spikes.”
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