Ladner Community Garden

Now that spring break is over, the grade three class is returning to the garden. This week they will be planting the seed tapes they made in March. It was a great rainy day project for them to do. In all, they made 62 feet of seed tape. That's a lot of vegetables! They will be planting lettuce, spinach, spicy greens, radishes, carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, broad beans and peas in the one hour they are at the garden. Did I tell you there are 28 students this year so many hands make light work. The students come by bus from Southpointe Academy in Tsawwassen. They learn everything about gardening from starting seeds to harvesting and tasting their own vegetables. They usually start their day by spending time just observing in the garden. There is so much to learn by seeing the changes nature brings. From the buds that swell in spring to the light frost that covers kale in the fall, they learn to see the changes and identify the different seasons. When planting...

You sure can't beat this weather for the end of March. I don't recall having it quite so warm. It is definitely time to get our gardens growing. If you are unsure as to what to plant first ask someone in the garden or check out the handy chart from West Coast Seeds located in the front of the log book in the shed.  Our water has been turned on by the parks department and we didn't even ask. Thanks Delta! They must have seen the huge pile of soil we ordered last week. Its been a  busy couple of weeks in the community garden. We have had 38 yards of soil brought in for the gardeners that ordered and paid for it. It sure looks like great soil but I noticed it has dried out on top quite quickly. It must be all this sunshine. If you are planting seeds, be sure to water them after planting if the soil feels dry to the touch. Better yet, water the soil before planting to prevent washing the seeds away. Don't forget to label what you plant. You can save money by making ...

Yesterday the grade three class came for their first  spring visit to the Ladner Community Garden. Well its technically not quite spring but it was time to plant some early crops. I had the outdoor classroom all set up so there was enough room for 26 children to sit down and listen to what we would be doing today. We use mostly stumps for sitting, a few benches and folding stools. The children were so excited to be there. They are coming from a newly built school that doesn't have the landscaping finished so this was their first outdoor activity since mid January. We broke in to groups. My group helped to work on the food bank garden. We needed to dig under the fall rye and harvest the leftover turnips. This was one big turnip and it took three of them to get it out. They loved the size of the root on this one.  The children were so eager to use the new shovels we purchased at Lee Valley Tools. One child looked at me and said, "I love this, can we come ever...