Anyone who has a vegetable garden or planter knows how gratifying it can be to see the plants grow, take care of them, enjoy their flowering and wait, eagerly, for the moment of their fruiting or harvesting. As well, getting children to have the same experience now that they are young thanks to the school garden is one of the best gifts we can give them.
We cannot forget that the youth of today are the adults of tomorrow, and as things are today, with the problem of poverty, hunger, global warming and others, it is important to have the basic knowledge necessary to be able to grow our own food. . For these reasons, we are going to explain what a school garden is and what are the steps to follow to make one.
What is a school garden?
Before answering that question, let's first look at what a garden is. A vegetable garden is nothing more than an irrigated crop that, although once it was only located near rivers or fresh water sources due to its high water needs, today it can be had on any terrain as long as there is a irrigation system suitable. There is a variant, which is the urban garden, which consists of growing horticultural plants in pots, planters, cultivation tables, ... in short, in containers.
Knowing this, we can get more or less an idea of what a school garden is, but so that there is no room for doubt, I will tell you that this type of garden, often grown in containers given that many schools are located in urban settings, serves for children to know the growth and development of vegetables and vegetables. Thus, almost without realizing it, we also get them to respect nature more, something that is very good for our beloved planet Earth.
What's more, it can be an ecological school garden, that is, a type of school agricultural crop in which only seeds / seedlings and products are used that are not harmful to humans or plants.
What does it take to have one?
Nothing that we do not need to have a garden at home:
- Vegetables and vegetables: either seeds or seedlings. This will depend on the age of the children and, above all, on the season of the year in which we are. Of course, the ideal would be for the little ones to see the whole process, from sowing to harvesting, but if the sowing season has passed - it is usually spring - you can buy a few already grown seedlings.
- Place to plant them: Does the school have a piece of land? Perfect! You can have the garden there; Otherwise, do not worry because you can buy -or make- a cultivation table. If you don't know where to get it, you can buy here.
- Tags: they are very necessary, since on them they must write the name of the plants and the sowing / planting date. You can do it in the classroom as explained in this article, or buy them already made by here.
- Irrigation systemDecide whether to install a drip irrigation system or a watering can will suffice. If the orchard is going to be on land, the most advisable thing will be to opt for the first option; but if it is going to be on a growing table you can also install drip or use a watering can.
What are the steps to make a school garden?
Orchard on land
The steps to follow to have a school garden on land are the following:
- First of all, you have to remove the herbs and stones.
- Afterwards, it is highly recommended that, with a hoe or, if you can get it, a walking tractor -which obviously must be carried by an adult person- you work the land.
- Next, it must be fertilized with organic fertilizers, guano being highly recommended and, also, chicken manure. The latter, if you can get it fresh, let it dry in the sun for at least a week. Then you can put a layer of about 4cm and mix it with earth.
- The next step is to level the ground with a rake. It doesn't have to be perfect.
- Later, you have to sow the seeds or plant the plants and water them.
- Finally, the labels will be put on.
To be protected, it must be fenced.
Potted vegetable garden
To have a container garden or planter, the first thing to do is know what plants can be grown in it, which are especially lettuce, tomatoes, spinach and cucumbers. In the case of having large plastic buckets -of those that are at least 40 or 50cm high- you can make a hole and grow vegetables such as peppers, garlic, onions, chard and the like.
Once this is known, the seeds will be sown at a distance of about 5cm each, covered with a thin layer of substrate for seedlings you can buy here and they will be watered. Finally, the labels will be put on.
What to do with the fruits?
Once the plants are ready for harvest, you may have a question: what do we do now? Well, there are several options:
- Distribute them among the children who have been farmers.
- Organize a sale of fruits and vegetables.
- They can be eaten in the same school.
Was it interesting for you? 🙂