Students Dig It.... Gardening with Youth
Kiki Fontenot, PhD
Home, School and Community Gardens
Benefits of Gardening
• Gain Responsibility
• Acquire new skills
• Eat healthier (try new foods)
• New learning environment
• Appreciate nature
Are School Gardens Really Making a Difference?
• Challenge youth to learn new skills
• Increase science scores
• Increase environmental stewardship
We’re Not Too Little!
Other Limits?
Don’t Push It!
Before You Start…• Principal
– Seek permission• Participating teachers
– Time restraints– Curriculum– Class information
• School Staff– Holiday schedules
• Volunteers– Sustainability
• Patrons– $$$
• STUDENTS!!!– Interest
Garden Site Selection• Space limitations
– One vs. multiple gardens
• Proximity to classroom(s)– 6-8 hrs of sunlight a day
– Water source
– Good drainage
– Room for expansion
• START SMALL …. then have a 1st…..5th year plan
Garden Design• Assign garden space to participants
• Raised beds vs. in-ground
• Theme Gardens– Pizza garden– Alphabet garden
• Multiple purpose gardens– Vegetable– Cut flower– Herb– Ornamental– Native plant
• Connecting the green space with hard-scape
Neat School Gardens
YOU CAN EVEN PLANT
A REALLY ….. small garden
Seeking Help– Students are the #1 owners and workers
– Parents
– School Staff• Janitorial• Cafeteria• Shop teacher
– Master Gardeners
– Local college faculty and students
Design Considerations– Let students design– Think about: In ground beds vs. raised
beds or container gardening– Row/ Bed widths
• Row = 3ft• Between rows 4-5ft
– Row/ Bed heights • 8-12 inches
– Seating, composting,
greenhouse areas
Soil Sample
– Take 5 to 6 shovels of soil from garden beds
– Mix in a bucket
– Select one pint of soil out
– Send to LSU Soils Lab • ($10/sample- basic analysis only)• Heavy metal analysis• http://www.stpal.lsu.edu/
Planting the Garden
– Plant and harvest crops within the school year
Maintaining the GardenFertilize
– Pre-plant fertilization– Side dressing
• Irrigate– Invest in a timer!– Drip hoses
• Weed Control– Hand pull, hoe,
cultivate
Harvest
• Have a harvest party
• Keep it simple:
– Pick, Wash, Eat
– Materials Needed: • Bowls and dressing
Connecting the Garden to the Classroom
• Use the garden as a classroom
– Reading area– Math and measurements– Science (pollination,
photosynthesis, life cycles)– Art (customize benches, borders,
signs, paintings, murals, etc.)
Reading Activities
Create a bulletin boardabout your garden
1. Read The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller
2. Have students look through garden/flower magazines and books.– Note the differences in
flowers petals, stems, and leaves
3. Create paper flowers out of construction paper to decorate the bulletin board
Science/ Art Activities
• Learn the importance of scientific and common plant names. Learn the rules in writing them
• Create permanent labels for plants in the garden
Environmental Science Activities
Geography Activities
History Activities
Internet Technology Activities
Basic Knowledge
• Plant sunflower seeds with students observe them with your five senses
FundraisingSolicit Funding
– Grants• Captain Planet Foundation• Gardenburger™• Target• Home Depot• Welch’s Grape Juice
– Personal endowments
– Fundraisers
– Donations• Local nurseries and hardware stores
School Garden Resources• Facebook
– Louisiana School Gardens Facebook Group– http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?
gid=205990085731
• LSU AgCenter– www.lsuagcenter.com– Lawn and Garden – Master Gardener – School
Gardens
• Veggie Bytes School Garden Newsletter– www.lsuagcenter.com/veggiebytes
• Steps to a Successful School Garden
• California School Garden Network– http://www.csgn.org/page.php?id=120
HAVE FUN!
EAT WELL!