Teacher Olga describes a typical Junior Garden Club of Teaneck session.
It was a beautiful day and we gardeners really took advantage of it. We opened up the last two beds in the garden, divided them into thirds and the children planted peppers, straight neck yellow squash, green squash, beets, cucumbers and okra. They planted marigolds and basil between tomato plants; and sunflowers in the strawberry patch.
Some were seeds and some were plants. We monitored and noticed the progress of our peas and found, in our strawberry patch, flowers and immature strawberries already. One member asked when we would be getting strawberries and was answered by another that the fruit (i.e.strawberries) come after the flowers. I was so proud of them all.
And they seem to have gotten the nack of digging a hole, gently teasing out the roots of a small plant (basil – whose smell Emma loves, as do I), planting it, and sprinkling soil to cover the roots. They take great care in handling the young plants. They are a smart and earnest group of children with increasing skills in many areas.
We thank those who brought in kitchen scraps for our compost bin. We will have excellent compost in a few months. We had a lesson on composting and students seem to understand how microorganism, worms and insects turn the scraps into compost.
Our next meeting will be June 8.
As the garden needs more tending during the warm months, we may split the group in two so that a group comes every week. We will advise the parents.
We welcome volunteers, even if you just want to come one time. It puts a smile on your face to see the children involved in the garden.
Garden Club of Teaneck
P.O. Box 3253,
Teaneck, NJ 07666
Junior Gardening:
a sample session
Below are photos of the children engaged in their gardening activites: digging, listening, planting, watering.
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