SAKG NEWS
This fortnight in the kitchen we are making a Winter Warmer menu with simple (but not boring or bland) pumpkin soup, roast vegetable salad, soda bread with Australian flavours and lemon and blueberry muffins. We have used up just about all of our amazing pumpkin harvest including butternut, golden nugget and tromboncino pumpkins. The students have experimented with different spices and the emphasis has been on flavour and presentation. Not much was left over so they were very successful. The roast veggie salad used potato, carrot and a less well-known veggie called Jerusalem artichoke. The last one is best served in small quantities as it can bring on wind! The students roasted them and served them on a bed of freshly harvested lettuce and rocket with honey mustard salad dressing. The soda bread was flavoured with wattle seed and saltbush, giving it an Australian flavour and the lemon and blueberry muffins were a lovely way to finish off the meal.
The start of winter means plants are growing slowly, but we are harvesting root vegetables such as potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes and carrots. There are also lots of green leaves which have been harvested such as silver-beet, lettuces, rocket and parsley. It’s been cold but mostly dry, so we have been able to get out into the garden. Last rotation the students learned about weeds. Different methods of weed control were discussed, chickens free ranged in the garden to show how good they are at weeding.
This rotation students have been busy learning about hot composting. They have been watching videos of kids making compost to inspire their own compost making! Younger students (Grade 4) watched Composting for Kids by Junior Gardening Australia
Grade 5 & 6 watched Gardening Australia’s new teenager presenter (Jude) talk about his compost.
Our hot compost pile is growing well with layers of old straw, cardboard, autumn leaves and green waste from the garden. “Chopping and chatting” is a favourite activity where green waste is chopped up ready for the hot compost pile. Once it is over 1 metre we will turn it every week, this will add oxygen to get it really working!
On Saturday, June 1st, we had a working bee to prune, weed, mulch and generally clean up the garden. We were able to make some wreaths from grape vine pruning’s. These have been stored away so that they can be decorated and give to classes in Term 4 to celebrate Christmas. A special thanks to the Baha’i community and all those who came and helped make our garden beautiful. We achieved so much, and we are extremely grateful.
And lastly a call out for volunteers to host our guinea pigs over the holidays. They are very low maintenance but return so much joy. They will come to you in a cage with enough food and wood shavings for the two weeks. If you are interested at all please contact any one of us in the SAKG team (Mrs O’Brien, Kate or Jodie) or see the ladies in the front office. We promise they will not disappoint.
