Kitchen Garden

On Wednesday 4th March, our Year 3/4 students were back in the garden. It was a very misty and fresh morning, perfect conditions for some garden tasks and adventures.

One of the highlights was exploring the many insects that live in our garden ecosystem. Students were fascinated to discover a family of longhorn beetles, which were on our big eucalyptus trees. This discovery sparked lots of curiosity and discussion. Seeing these creatures up close inspired many students to ask questions and investigate further, helping them better understand the important role insects play in our environment.

Students have also been carefully monitoring the progress of our zucchinis. The tromboncinos and the yellow golden varieties are still producing. Alongside this, the students have continued maintaining our garden beds by watering, weeding, cutting back our herbs and planting new seeds. Excitingly, some of these seeds have already germinated in under a week, which has been very rewarding for everyone involved.

Our Environment Captains have also been putting our garden produce to great use. They recently worked together to make tomato sauce using tomatoes from the garden. The process involved cutting, roasting, blending and freezing the sauce so it can be preserved and used later in the year for cooking.

The most exciting adventure, however, was harvesting our first four Queensland Blue pumpkins. Reaching them was no easy task! Students had to carefully navigate through long, spiky vines, spiders and bushes to get to the pumpkins hidden deep within the patch. Once we found them, teamwork was essential. The pumpkins were quite heavy, so students worked together to cut, lift and carry them out of the patch while also figuring out the best path back through the vines.

A big thank you to Ms Hannah Scantelton, who helped us during the harvest and took photos to capture these special moments.

Ms Leda Semercioglu

Kitchen Garden Coordinator