School veg plot maintenance

[reetnproper]

Up until last Friday I hadn't had chance to get into the School veg plot since the kids had broke up. The caretaker had let me know that the council gardeners were coming to cut the grass and trim the trees and bushes, so I'd be able to get access to the veg patch to see what needed doing.

A couple of the pupils are doing that Lifestyle thing and are getting together tins of food and the like to give to the pensioners in the villages sheltered accomodation and so this was a chance to see what, if anything, was available for them to use

So it was with some trepidation that the Reetlets and I trundle along to the school on Friday and this was what I found:

Nettles were taking over the rows of carrots - sorted them out;
The parsnip foliage is impressively green and bushy but then so were the weeds - sorted them out too;
The potatoes are doing well (and had smothered most of the weeds in their patch) but they were my left over seed King Edwards and went in at pretty much the very last minute (we were waiting for soil for the beds). Unfortunately a furtive rooting about hasn't discovered any spuds , so probably need several more weeks;
Sadly the unprotected turnip and cauliflower bed is as 'chomped' as you would expect but that was no big suprise - need to source some netting for next season if possible;
The courgettes have grown marrows which I've harvested today ready for the Lifestylers to collect and deliver. There were 6 marrows with an impressive combined weight of 16lb 11oz (or 7.575kg);
The runner beans are looking very healthy and producing lots of lovely beans. Unfotunately only 8.8oz (251g) were ready today but that's better than nothing and there are loads more growing on; and
The tomatoes (originally sideshoots from my plants) have gone mad, fallen off their supports but with loads of green tomatoes on them. I didn't have time to sort them out on Friday but have given them a drastic 'haircut' today, removing huge sideshoots which were just starting to produce flowers and, in some cases, tiny tomatoes. I also removed quite a lot of foliage as well to allow air and light into the tomatoes themselves and then repinned them to their supports. If all the tomatoes that are currently on them ripen then the school is in for a bumper crop of cherry tomatoes in a couple of weeks.

Last year a lot of the produce went to waste because we couldn't get in to maintain the beds over the summer which did make me feel a little sad, as no-one likes to see their hard work go to waste. So I'm glad that this year I've been able to do some work and by picking the beans now, hopefully the plants will continue to produce for a few more weeks. Not sure if we'll get any more courgettes as each plant had produced one marrow which I've now taken but it would be good if we could get just a couple more.

Reet
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[zazen999]

Reet - I can't get to a few of my schools so I do a couple of things.

Grow bush toms rather than vines

Sow some crops early to be harvested before the end of term; and sow some late to be harvested when you get back.

Just these 2 things have made a huge difference.

[reetnproper]

Thanks for the advice zazen.

Thankfully, the fact the the soil for the new beds arrived so late in the year has helped in a way because everything is that little bit behind. Not sure who's running the gardening club next year as the parent/teacher who has done it up to now has now moved to another school.

I've only ever been a volunteer helper in the veg patch but, that said, I do take pride in getting the plants to grow, flourish and produce.

I'll certainly take on board suggestions to grow bush toms instead of vines. The only reason the school ended up with my sideshoots was that the delay in the soil meant that the tomato seedlings grown by the parent/teacher struggled and were tiny when I came to plant them. Thankfully the rest of the seedlings (parsnips, courgettes and runner beans) recovered quickly and well once transplanted into the beds.

The only real casulaties have been the brassicas but then, without netting, it really is pointless to try and grow them.

Thanks again
Reet
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[zazen999]

I'm collecting bush toms Reet - after being given some seeds last year I've also boughtmy own so Ihave a fair few. I'll send you some if you nudge me after the end of Sept when all my seed collecting is done and dusted.

[reetnproper]

Thanks for that. Will do and much appreciated.
Reet
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[WendyC]

I'm just wondering what our beds will beds like. Can recommend the book "The Playground Potting Shed" Really good on what to grow when.

[Florence Fennel]

It is so good to hear that you help out like this. None of my 8 grandchildren have gardens at school, though the two youngest have grown a bean or a tomato over the summer holidays. Hope you get more of everything Reet.

[Two_Sheds]

I've been going in once a week or so ~ it's been cool & cloudy since June, so I've not had to worry about watering so much. I did get the caretaker to rig up an outside water butt this last term, which is helpful (the others are inside the school which is locked up).

Our cabbage is full of caterpillars & the slugs have had a right go at the chard, but the beans are doing well: except the half dozen biggest ones that "someone" has pulled off and chucked in the compost heap. I suspect they thought they were "helping", but we were saving these for seed.

The flowers and hanging baskets aren't as bad as expected: I put them all in the shade before we broke up. Apart from a bit of dead-heading there isn't much for me to do before we open again in a fortnight

[zazen999]

What about tying labels to those you are saving for seed; with Saving for Seed - please do not harvest' in big red writing on them?

[Two_Sheds]

I never imagined anyone would pick them Zaz, so I felt no need to protect anything

[zazen999]

Aah, I always assume someone will so I label them all!

[Two_Sheds]

Nobody has shown any interest in the veg plot previously: they won't even eat the stuff (veg) when I pull, clean, polish and garnish it

[horticultural_hobbit]

At my last school, there was a little allotment and greenshouse. Was amazing. They had a volunteer gardener who would come in twice a week to tend to it. As the brainchild of one of the DH's, it was the baby of her class-children who for reason or another had difficulties in the classroom-and they took good care of it. There was such a variety of crops sown. I even got my then charge to plant runners and peas as a science project-it was part of their learning-that was placed on the plot. The gardner was only to aware of the cost cutting that schools have to do, admonishing the fairly rubbishy dirt that had been put into the raised beds. He would have liked some horse poo but there were elf and safety regs or something. It's a wonderful "ooh" moment sharing gardening with kids. Even better when they line up for dinner an their peas and courgettes end up as lunch.

[jackyspratty]

3 of us plus our kids have been going in once a week together for 3 hours. As well as general bed tidying etc we have also used the time for more craft based stuff which we dont usually have time for in our sessions. We had a scarecrow day, a dreamcatcher and leaf print day, a build a planter out of pallets day, and a compost day (or a pick the rubbish out of the cmpost day!!) and this week we are having a harcest BBQ. There will be beans, cabbage, radish, toms, lettuce, strawberry spinach, chard,herbs we harvested the spuds in the last session befor term ended.

We wont have huge amounts of anything really, but it all looks in great condition, and the head has approached us to help design a growing area next year which is great!!

[mary-belle]

I went in on Tuesday expecting everything to be dead as they haven't had any attention all summer.

I found

12 corn on the cob plants that are massive with 2-3 cobs on each (will harvest with kids next week).
1 huge courgette/marrow that I gave to another teacher.
2 bowls full of cherry toms from vine and bush types. About 5 more bowls full still green so looking forward to taking the kids to pick them.
A good few hand fulls of beans (pink speckled ones?)
Couple of past it cukes (again taken off my hads by another teacher)
A handfull of blueberries

Lots of weeds/bolted salad.

Nice that we have something to pick when the kids come back as so far we have only harvested salad pots, radishes, lettuce and peas.