How Many People Have Been Inspired to Garden at Home?

Many Pingry folks of all ages have been inspired to start their own patches of garden happiness at home as a result of the knowledge gained in their classes and work teams. Mr. Corvino added many flowering plants and bushes to his backyard last summer and raised crops of tomatoes and basil, ingredients for pizza that he will regrow this planting season.We thought it would be fun to do a survey to find out how many families and faculty members have been getting their hands dirty in hopes of a harvest payoff or for the incentive of providing more color and beauty in their lives. Below is one first grader who is leading the action at her own home because this is a new venture for her family! Notice the companion plant marigolds ready to lend their bright color and guardian function.


This first grade gardener has all her equipment and materials ready to beautify her home!

Proud Pingry siblings working in their community garden

Another proud first grade gardener!





Father and son make a good team for planting window boxes!

  


A proud gardener ready to plant




A first grade gardener tends to his summer crops!

  



The Magic of Community-The New Cycle of Planting-2012

Kindergarten students line up in their work teams.

On April 12 the Short Hills Garden was alive with magic and laughter! The eagerness of the students was palpable as many different classes and age groups worked together and pooled their expertise to begin the new cycle of planting the empty garden beds. First, second, and third graders worked side by side, with the older students taking leadership roles. The children put into practice the lessons of cooperation and collaboration learned in other settings, as they worked to achieve a common goal-the planting of kitchen crops that will be enjoyed by the entire Short Hills community.



First graders making decisions about plant placement




Second grade workers prepare the ground for border stones

 



Just as the students were introduced to the power of cooperative tasks, they also learned  about "companion plants," pairings of crops that provide benefits to each other. Below are some quotes from first graders about these benefits:

"Companion plants are put together sometimes so the taste will be better and sometimes to keep bugs away."

"Marigolds are guards to protect the plants. Animals don't like the smell of marigolds."

"Ladybugs can be guards too to keep away the aphids."

"You have to plant guard plants in the corners of the beds."

LIST OF COMPANION PLANTS IN THE SH GARDEN

carrots+sage(deters carrot fly and cabbage moth)

marigolds +lettuce

marigolds+beets

strawberries+lettuce   

onions+peppers

beets+onions

potatoes+basil

celery+spinach

peppers+basil

Speaking of plants that go well together leads to a big announcement! Mr. Corvino (and some companions) officially planted A PIZZA GARDEN on April 19 with garlic, onions, oregano, basil, parsley, carrots, and some varieties of lettuce for a nice Italian salad!



The teachers look happy thinking about the yummy pizza to come!





Mr. Corvino demonstrates how to plant garlic.



Members of the Pingry community (of all ages) enjoyed a productive day sharing tasks and decisions. Some excerpts from second grade journal writing below reflect the power of the experience:

"It was a wonderful day in the garden. It was peaceful, calm, and quiet, and it was so much fun. My friends worked so hard."

"What I did in the garden was first I took the rocks and sticks out of the ground, then flipped the soil, then put flowers down and planted one, then watered the garden."

"It was superhard to take out all the rocks, leaves, weeds, and grass. I helped Sarah get a humongous rock. After that we planted flowers of all kinds. We got some help from other groups. I'm proud of all our hard work."

Literacy and library lovers laughing over lettuce!

SPRING 2012-A NEW GARDEN SEASON HAS BEGUN!

 It is April and New Jersey is wearing its soft spring colors. The pink magnolias and cherry trees, yellow forsythia and daffodils, and the green fuzz of budding leaves make our hearts glad. The Short Hills students are getting ready for a new round of planting. Ms. Smith-Willis spent much of her Spring Break time preparing the garden beds with the proper mixture of soil.  Teachers are reviewing the rules that show respect for nature and keep the garden special and calm. Some grades are forming working teams. The third graders are figuring out the grids in class that will ensure the proper spacing for the planting of cold weather spring crops.  

Pingry's Garden Rules are posted right by the door out to the garden.

2-Dr Reviews Rules from Last Year

Some books from our garden collection



Teachers are busy reading garden books to their classes.  Second graders enjoy the book The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin (http://www.gracelin.com/.) The book blends the joy of a garden with a wonderful theme of cultural pride and sharing. There is even a recipe included for soup using Chinese vegetables!

Winter maintenance in the garden!

 

Here we are... hard at work on a cold, Tuesday afternoon! The garden will be in shape in no time!

Making progress... in the cold!

 




More progress is being made in the new garden area! Today the new doors were built and put into place. Next we'll have to spread wood chips on the ground to make our garden area a true working space! Where are the students, you ask? Keep checking... they're inside bundling up! It's 42 degrees and frosty outside! Next they'll come out and help spread the wood chips and do some winter maintenance on the existing garden. More pictures to come soon!

This is a beautiful sunrise in our new garden area. I came to school on a Saturday morning in December at 7:30am and the sun was coming up over the trees. This is what it's like in our garden on the weekends. What was I doing there at that hour? Watering the baby Brussels sprouts and bringing home the garden gloves for washing! Hopefully the Brussels sprouts will make it through the cold 40 degree temperatures for the weekend. There's lots of condensation on the cold frames, so hopefully the Brussels are warm and flourishing inside!

A very busy December 2011!

So many good things have happened in the last few weeks, I don't even know where to start! There has been a lot of activity in the back of the building, but very few people have had a chance to stop by! No worries! Several special helpers have made sure there are plenty of pictures to post! I will try and keep everyone up to date on all that is happening while we hustle around these last few days of school! Check back shortly for more information and pictures! Ms. SW

Garden Thoughts from 1-SW

1-SW gardeners know how to think of the garden in three different ways-like a farmer who concentrates on growing the plants, like a scientist who examines all the facts and thinks about the environment, and like a poet who responds to the garden with feelings and imagination. Using their poets' sensitivity, the students composed some thoughts about garden photographs taken right after the storm.







The pepper is sad because it was snowing.


The pepper was lonely because its friends went home.


The pepper was sleeping under a blanket of snow.




Can you spot the snow-covered eggplant?



          




       The plants are altogether
        having fun with their friends.

       The brussels sprouts are happy in their 
        greenhouse.    

Ms. Collins is happy that her baby sprouts are safe!



The zucchini was warm under all those leaves and vines.

The zucchini was happy under its little tent.

The zucchini was swimming happily in a green ocean.

The zucchini feels worried because of the chipmunks.




Frozen lemon balm shocked by the October snow



A cold, snowy week in the garden!

What a difficult week this has been! I have been busy in the garden cleaning up the tree branches that fell during the storm! I took lots of pictures of what happened, but haven't had internet access to post them! Over the next few days Mrs. Gibson and I will get them posted so you can see what the garden looked like while we were off from school! The bad news is that we lost the last of our crops because they froze. The good news is that we have lots of work to do in the garden over the next two weeks to prepare for the next season! It's getting cold, so we have to hurry before the ground freezes up! Get ready to work like true farmers!

Preparing the Garden Beds for the Winter

The garden is a mixture of fall beauty, one last planting, and beds at rest as the days shorten and Halloween comes near. There is still work to be done to enrich the soil with compost to prepare the beds for next season's crops. Ms. Collins, one of our faithful garden boosters, happily planted some Brussels sprouts, a cruciferous vegetable that will mature in a few months. The garden is a place of peace and comfort in the autumn sun.



Ms. Collins and her Brussels sprouts-a last hurrah!





Did you know that good bacteria in the soil helps gardeners feel cheerful?-(source-a study cited in Prevention Magazine)





Gorgeous Mexican Sage!



Eggplants safe in their mini greenhouse, called cold frames.






Getting ready for next season-clean compost