Garden Club

The Great Seville Comeback: Thorn Included

Our beloved Seville orange tree has officially moved to its new VIP suite behind 4 White Classroom!

It’s had a bit of a rough trot lately after a gruelling battle with citrus leaf miners. Thankfully, after a thorough pampering with white oil, it's officially on the mend and looking much happier.

Why the move to 4 White, you ask? Aside from giving it the peace and quiet it needs to bounce back; there’s a strategic safety reason: citrus trees like to pack heat. Armed with surprisingly sharp spikes, our little Seville was proving to be a bit too much of a high contact hazard for high-traffic zones. Moving it behind 4 White keeps both the tree and our hands safe from unexpected pricks.

Keep an eye on it as it recovers and remember, admire its resilience, but respect the thorns!

Operation: Ultimate Bed Makeover

Now that the sweet potatoes have officially packed their bags and vacated the premises, our favourite garden bed is getting a complete, bottom-up pamper session.

We aren't just topping up the soil we’re brewing up a gourmet lasagna of organic goodness. Here’s the recipe for our future plant paradise:

1.         Shredded Paper: For that cozy, fluffy base.

2.         Coffee Grounds: To keep the soil nicely caffeinated.

3.         Spent Charcoal: Adding that smoky, high-end biochar luxury.

4.         Rabbit Poo: The secret ingredient. Nature’s most premium, high-octane fertilizer pellets!

We’ll be repeating this decadent layer-cake routine several times before crowning the whole creation with a rich, velvety top layer of worm castings.

Once this masterpiece has settled, we’re handing the keys over to our green-bean team: a full season of peas and beans! They'll get to feast on this luxurious buffet, pump nitrogen back into the dirt, and set us up for an absolute bumper crop.

Why Peas and Beans Next? The Magic of Crop Rotation!

After hosting heavy, starchy feeders like sweet potatoes, soil can get a little exhausted and prone to lingering soil-borne diseases. Enter Crop Rotation the garden equivalent of switching up your workout routine so no single muscle gets worn out!

By planting legumes (peas and beans) next:

·       Disease Prevention: We break the lifecycle of pests and pathogens that thrive on starchy root crops.

·       Natural Recharge: Peas and beans pull nitrogen out of the air and pump it back into the earth, replenishing the bed naturally for whatever we plant next season.

FREE Seed of the Week is Green Onion

• Week 6: Green Onion – The ultimate kitchen-window companion for instant snip-and-eat flavour.
• Week 8: Nasturtium Flower – Peppery, vibrant, and beautiful enough to eat (literally—toss them in a salad!).
• Week 10: Sunflower Seed – Aim for the skies with these bright, cheerful giants.

Pic of the week

We have been secretly growing potato in the Hidden Garden and this was a visitor I managed to take a photo.

When is the Garden Club?

Garden Club happens on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, right after the gates open. We meet at the bubblers on the Churchill Avenue side of the school.

Garden Club is completely FREE to join! It's a great opportunity to learn to be a lateral thinker with limited resources, get first pick after a harvest, and see some fascinating creatures.

The information shared here is based on our experiences and knowledge, but we are not gardening experts. Think of it as friendly advice from one garden lover to another. Please remember that all gardening activities should be done with adult supervision and that you're responsible for your own safety and decisions.