School Year Maintenance

During the school year, the students can perform most of the general garden maintenance. These tasks include weeding, watering, adding mulch, removing spent blossoms and dead plant material, and, of course, harvesting crops.

Once the students are trained, have some experience, and gain confidence by working in the garden, less supervision by the teacher or garden volunteers will be required. Many students will assume a sense of ownership of their garden and will take considerable pride in its appearance. Students who keep up the appearance of their garden could be recognized with a “Garden of the Week” sign or a “blue ribbon” flag placed in their garden plot. Children and adults learn best when they are having a good time in the garden. Find ways to make these tasks fun. Who can find the most weeds, the biggest, the smallest, or the most different kinds?