Kitchen Garden Update

In the Garden

Last fortnight in Kitchen Garden we planted some beautiful native flowers along the fence line facing the oval that will hopefully produce beautiful purple flowers in Spring. Please be mindful of this area with your feet and dogs as the seedlings begin to grow. 

We also spent some quality time with the chickens, making sure their water and food is full, sharing some treats from the garden and ensuring their house is spick and span.

Maintaining the compost is a weekly job that the 3/4 students facilitate for the whole school. They collect and monitor the bins in the learning spaces, sort anything that shouldn’t be in there and ‘mindfully’ chop it up ready for the compost tumblers. 

Compost facts from the 3/4s

Did you know you have to take the stickers off any fruit before you put it in the school compost bins? Also, coffee cups can’t go in our school compost bins, they have to go in the red landfill bins. Even the ones that say they are compostable!

We are also looking for a few more bicycle wheels for the archway installation. Any size will help complete the creation. We look forward to growing some Scarlett runner beans over the trellis to enjoy over the summer months!

Unfortunately, flowers are being picked from the garden. Please make sure you supervise your children in this space before and after school. We love that it can be enjoyed by all but please leave the flowers for the bees. Insects and other bugs have a very important role to play. Many pollinated flowers grow into fruits and vegetables for the students to use in the kitchen.

Thanks for helping to keep our garden and its little creatures happy!

In the Kitchen

In our makeshift kitchen (the staffroom) small groups of students from each class made some delicious and healthy wraps. They grated and sliced vegetables (carrots, cucumber and capsicum) to roll with herbs from the garden, cream cheese and alfalfa sprouts on soft spinach and herb wraps. They cut them into pinwheel shapes to share with the whole class. We also created some sweet pinwheel wraps with ‘smooth spread’ (a nut free peanut butter style spread that the kids nicknamed ‘imposter peanut butter’), banana and raspberry jam. 

Another group of students from each class made delicious crumble bars with rhubarb harvested from the garden last term which we had stewed and frozen. This was a hit with the students and the staff greatly appreciated any leftovers. If you want to make this recipe at home you can substitute the rhubarb for any fruits, fresh or frozen, including blueberries, strawberries, apples and pears. Just make sure it’s completely cooled before removing it from the tray because the base is quite crumbly. 

Volunteers needed

Thanks to the parents and community members who have helped us in the kitchen and garden over the last few weeks! The program couldn’t run without you. Don’t forget to sign up here