Lessons of a school garden: teach children to plant, and put the world at their fingertips

Sunset, Oct, 2005 by Lauren Bonar Swezey, Peter O. Whiteley

A school garden is a great teaching tool--it brings science, math, nature, and art to life, and it gets students excited about learning.

Sunset teamed up with Juana Briones Elementary School in Palo Alto, California, to develop a fall garden, working with a team of parent volunteers and teachers to build raised beds, and then helping the schoolkids plant them with flowers and vegetables selected for making natural dyes.

Check out the following pages to learn how to start a school garden in your own neighborhood. You'll quickly find out, as we did, how much fun--and how rewarding--gardening with children can be.

When kids become gardeners:

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* They learn what plants need to grow by working the soil with their hands.

PROJECT 1: Plant a raised-bed garden.

* They enjoy the rewards of a job well done with a surprise-filled harvest.

PROJECT 2: Make dye from natural ingredients.

PROJECT #1

Plant raised beds

A planting plan suddenly takes on a life of its own when kids have plants in hand. But here's how to start a fall garden that can produce colors for dyeing material.

 1. Cabbage 'Red Acre'
 2. Yellow or red onions
 3. Calliopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria)
 4. Spinach
 5. Coreopsis tinctoria 'Mahogany'
 6. Scabiosa columbaria 'Pink Mist'
 7. Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks')
 8. Cabbage 'Ruby Perfection'
 9. Coreopsis grandiflora 'Early Sunrise'
10. Hops

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Start a garden

** Choose a site. Look for an area that receives full sun, is convenient to classrooms, and is relatively protected from excessive foot traffic and other hazards. Once you've determined you have a suitable location, get permission from school officials.

** Recruit help. Find parents and teachers with gardening experience. Make sure there are a few long-term volunteers devoted to the garden so it continues to grow and develop in the years ahead.

** Get funding. First try to get funding from the school district, but note that the majority of school gardens are partially or fully dependent on donations--not just money, but also materials. Be creative during your search. Ask the PTA, local businesses, and parents. Consider grants.

** Gather inspiration. Visit other school gardens in the area and ask for recommendations, and search the Web for online resources (see page 161 for a few of our favorites).

** Develop a plan. If it's a small garden, focus on one or several ideas that work with the school's curriculum. Large gardens can incorporate many learning experiences, including ornamental and edible plantings, art projects, and elements that support curricula for science, history, and food technology.

PROJECT #2

Make natural dyes

For yellow dye, plant onions and flowers now and harvest them in spring. Or collect them from other sources (ask for leftover onion skins at grocery stores). Buy wool at knitting shops.

* If using onions, you'll need:

Mild dishwashing liquid (such as Dawn)

2 ounces unspun wool

Slow-cooker

6 ounces yellow onion skins

1 tablespoon alum (aluminum potassium sulfate)

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons white vinegar

Rubber gloves

Clothesline

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1. Wash wool. Soak for 20 minutes in a standard-size plastic dishpan filled halfway with warm water and about 10 drops dishwashing liquid. Gently push wool into water with a spoon, but don't agitate. Rinse in warm water and hang to drain off excess water.

2. Simmer (this step can be done the night before). Fill slow-cooker halfway with cool water. Add onion skins, alum, salt, and vinegar and stir. Add wool and enough additional water to cover. Gently agitate the wool. Simmer for 1 hour. Shut off and let cool.

3. Hang to dry. Wearing gloves, remove wool from slow-cooker and hang to dry on a clothesline (install in an area where dripping dye won't stain anything). Pick off onion skins when dry.

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* If using flowers:

Collect mature blossoms of coreopsis, marigolds, and/or yellow zinnias. Do not collect leaves.

Pull petals from flower heads and place in a pouch made of four layers of cheesecloth; tie closed with string. Use 1 1/2 ounces of petals per 2 ounces of wool.

Follow the instructions at left, omitting onions and substituting 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar for the vinegar and salt.

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Online resources

Go to www.sunset.com/schoolgarden for more information on gardening and projects, including the composting station above and a schoolyard weather center. Other sources:

Life Lab Science Program promotes science and garden-based education. It offers activity guides, curricula, and workshops from its demonstration garden in Santa Cruz, California. www.lifelab.org or 831/459-2001.

KidsGardening from the National Gardening Association features activities, curricula, grant sources, and a resource directory. www.kidsgardening.com or 800/538-7476.