Kitchen Garden update

Kitchen 

The year 3/4 students have had their final Kitchen Garden session for the year. With the kitchen still out of action, our program has been limited but these last few weeks have seen the students excitedly preparing the perfect baked potato overflowing with toppings like broad bean dip and healthy coleslaw. 

The broad beans, cabbage and herbs all came fresh straight from the garden. A baked potato wouldn't be complete without melted cheese and sour cream or maybe even baked beans! 

Students also experienced baking a delicious apple, rhubarb and berry tart which was very sweet but went down a treat for the last session!

Garden

In the garden, we have been spending time caring for the chickens, weeding, turning compost, feeding the worms and collecting the worm tea to fertilise the plants, harvesting seeds, searching for pests like cabbage butterflies, slugs, snails and green vegetable beetles and relocating them elsewhere. 

We have also sown giant Russian sunflowers and corn seeds and planted pumpkin and zucchini seedlings which will be ready to enjoy next year. Keep an eye on them over the summer if you are visiting the Pencil Park and don’t be shy to remind any visitors that the produce is for the children of the school to enjoy when we start back next year.

The number one rule of the garden is to, “G O  s l o w!’ This way you will see all the interesting creatures that use the garden as their habitat. We share the garden with some very interesting creepy crawlies like hover flies and yellow admiral butterflies. 

Thea and Evie found a banded bee and Aggie also spotted an enormous mole cricket. Kenzie and Tiera discovered a praying mantis egg case and many of us marvelled at the leaf curling spider’s colourful abdomen as it came out from hiding. It is such a joy spending time in the garden with little people. The best part is watching flowers bloom and eating a ripe raspberry on the way back to class!

Chickens

If you are around these summer holidays please sign up to the chicken sitter roster below.

All instructions are attached to the sign up link. Allison will also provide a quick training session before and after school on Monday 16th and Wednesday 18th.

We would like to give a big heartfelt thank you to all the fabulous parent and grandparent helpers who have joined us this year. The kitchen garden program would not be what it is without you.

Happy Holidays,

Allison and Chantel

Kitchen Garden specialists