Advice on a checklist to set up a school veg patch please!

**zazen999** · 03-07-2010, 02:52 PM

a - it's good to see Food for Life up there at the top - nice one

b - set up a gardening group, with a few of the keenest kids included.

c - the biggest thrill so far from my schools has been quick wins, stuff that they can grow pretty fast and harvest themselves; the early potatoes grown in the greenhouse, the mange tout and the spring onions have gone down the best so far.

d - you can grow toms; but put them into pots for school time and then a few of the kids can take a pot home over the hols

e - think about a coldframe or small greenhouse - it makes such a difference

f - get the families involved to get the beds [if that's what you use] built; and have a 'making the beds' day and a 'planting' day where they come along and build.

g - water butt

h - try and get the cook involved from day 1

i - try and get the caretaker involved from day 1 [as they usually do any watering needed in the school hols]

j - the most expensive resource is missing - bought compost!

Food for Life has a growing skills audit in the paperwork; and if you get involved, Garden Organic Officers can come along and give advice to you particular to your school; so use the resource!

**jackyspratty** · 03-07-2010, 03:09 PM

Thanks zaz, thats all really valuable.
Ill add it to the list!
Re garden organic membership, can I join as an individual and do it that way or does the school have to join?

We have a fair bit of enthusiasm form parents, a couple of governors, and a couple of teachers, but have already met a fair bit of negativity. Understandably as people are tired and hot and thinking of increased work load that may follow (I know my OH is a teacher!), but we really need to sell the benefits and try and get it rolling to gain momentum! Wish us luck!

Was asked to go to a PTA to talk about growing (dont ask me why, they obviosly havent read my posts on here! Lol!) but was met with lots of negatives or blank faces. we\decided to set up a seperate growing group, and the next day there was a group of parents and governors at the gate enthused! Hooray, was a bit depressed on thursday, but friday teatime i was over the moon!

Want to get the ist of tasks together as its the end of the yaer and we need to start the ball rolling to stop it losing momentum over the hols.

Thanks againx

**zazen999** · 03-07-2010, 03:30 PM

Food for Life Partnership

If you join FFLP, it's free. You get the bells and whistles joining pack, the manuals, the fab growing cards and posters for free once you sign up; and then take it from there.

**jackyspratty** · 07-07-2010, 12:36 PM

Just a sending you a big thanks for your input on this. We met today and there were 11 of us, plus a few apologies. Lots of ideas and enthusiasm! It was great!
Think we are gonna try and get BTCV out for a free site visit and consultation, and give a few local schools a visit to see how they have done it.

People felt that the food for life project was something to aim for later (we almost had a riot in school when hotdogs werent on the menu at a school disco and that was just the parents!!), and want to do that as it gains momentum. Shame, as I explained the resuorces available, but I think people were worried about achieving the 75% of fresh food prepared on the school menu in the 2 year timespan.

Am hopeful though as there seemed to be a few parents that were keen on looking a campaigning role.

Thanks again, hopefully next year I may be able to do a miffy and share the schools success growin and eating veg!!

But its graet to see the enthusiasm amongst everyone there.

Thanks again

**Two_Sheds** · 07-07-2010, 03:00 PM

Good lord, what a long list - how organised you are! Don't let all that put you off though: I started my school gardening club with my own leftover spare seeds & plants, a fellow TA and 15 kids.

The school did get Morrisons gardening gear, so they all have a pair of gloves each, plus trowels & kneelers to share.

The school already had a "wildlife" garden, which I weeded and sectioned off a 15 x 3' bit for us to plant a Butterfly Bar into.

This week we'll be sowing pumpkin seeds into yogurt pots (I save anything useful like that). Compost is the biggest expense, next year I'll be looking at sponsorship/donations, if we aren't allowed to sell our produce to raise funds.

Next week we'll make grass heads (flowerpots sown with grass seed - I'm using budgie seed - and then given haircuts)

I found several good library books full of ideas: The Gardening Book: Amazon.co.uk: Jane Bull: Books
and RHS Ready, Steady, Grow!: Amazon.co.uk: Royal Horticultural Society: Books

**Two_Sheds** · 07-07-2010, 03:01 PM

Just a thought: the downfall of all school gardening projects is having nobody to water the plants: I go in 3 times a week to do ours.

My previous (2) schools had raised beds built from grants etc, but after the initial enthusiasm they were abandoned to the weeds: neither teachers nor parents had the time or skill to keep them useful.

di · 07-07-2010, 03:43 PM

Congratulations on the amazing organisation!I feel suddenly rather inadequateo

I help our Head run an Eco Club on a Friday after school,there's about 10-15 kiddies that come along.It's far easier than trying to find enough jobs for a whole class to do.
As well as growing veg in beds we also do other activities...we did a ladybird survey one week and last week as there was minimal 'gardening' for them to do we sent them off to pick some flowers bring them back to ID them and then put them in a flower press.

As well as all the other things you or Zazen and TS's have mentioned,we have a plant stall(plants that the children have grown from seed) at The Summer Fayre and the money raised goes back into the 'Eco Pot'.
Also if there's a glut of anything you could set up a little stall at the end of the school day for parents to buy produce.

**Two_Sheds** · 07-07-2010, 04:52 PM

Originally posted by andi&di View Post

if there's a glut of anything you could set up a little stall at the end of the school day for parents to buy produce.

That's what we wanted to do, but the PTA vetoed it (I guess because it wasn't their idea)

**jackyspratty** · 07-07-2010, 06:06 PM

Thanks for all the advise, its contagious isnt it!
We discussed watering today, need to get a supply sorted first! We also have the caretaker on side which is good.
Also discussed how each year group or class cuold have a responsibility for a bed or something, long term linking in with curriculum. Whats the term...? Short term funding long term sustainability?
If it is to be a one hour a week gardening club it won't work, it has to spread its roots through the school culture really.
Its a very diverse school witha lot of different cultures and we thought growing food is one way of celebrating that, and drawing people in.

Yeah theres always lots of reasons why something won't work. I met with PTA last week after being asked to go and felt very low when I left, as it was pretty negative, all problems and no enthusiasm, but in a week its all changed! Great. The school is on the edge of a woody park, and has a spare bit of land, which is unsuitable for playing on or turfing (there are a few HS issues!) so we are optimistic! Just need to demonstrate that it can enhance learning and teaching rather than increasing workload!!

Hoping to get BTCV to do the site visit etc and meet other groups in the area. A free supply of compost has been sourced we just need to collect it ( we got the number from BTCV who pointed us in the right direction) so it all feels good right now. Just need to keep momentum going over the summer....Hmmmmm!

We like the idea of a stall too, kids getting pride through growing and selling. We also thought of a cookbook with recipes donated by the parents with their favourite fruit/veg.

OOh we also want to do a blog of progress. Any ideas of a good free site we can use?

di · 07-07-2010, 08:59 PM

I'm so pleased I'm on my schools PTA and not your two's

...I don't really understand their apathy...although JS I wonder with yours if they felt you were there with an idea that would put more of a workload on them?Have you considered joining?
I know there's been incidents of peeps coming along to a couple of meetings,or worse just submitting a few Pie in the Sky ideas and then moaning that we don't instantly act on them...we're all volunteers and on top of half termly meetings have several events to arrange/attend also and there's only a hand full of us...despite it being open to all.You do sometimes get to the point where you think it would be easier and cheaper to meet once a year and pop �100 in a pot

The Juniors have got an open PE afternoon tomorrow and we've got the cooks to put together a little recipe book of healthy ideas for lunchboxes...we initially came up with a similar idea to you to get parents/kiddies to submit their own recipes but decided that it would be easier to get the canteen staff to do it as they're more in tune with exactly what the govt has decided constitutes a healthy recipe

(...and yes,I preferred the original plan)

di · 07-07-2010, 09:08 PM

Just had another thought

You mentioned your school has a wide mix of different cultures...perhaps you could have a 'multi~cultural Day' with lots of different dishes/veg to taste and find out from the children which ones they really liked and it could help to draw up a list of which veg/fruit they'd like to grow.(not sure where you'd stand re H&S if parents brought in their own food/cooking?I'm not sure but I think so long as it's an event where children will be accompanied by their parent/carer you can do it???)
Perhaps speak to your Head and see if it could be turned into a homework project...seems to get more parents involved if it's labelled homework as opposed to just a note home asking for peoples input

**jackyspratty** · 07-07-2010, 09:28 PM

Thats a great idea, we need to link it in with the idea of growing results in tasting something yummy! plus anything that pulls in all sections of the school community would be excellent, as sometimes it seems that some communities can be marginalised from getting involved.

Bring on those ideas... Theyre fab! Plus it makes me look clever and creative when i go to meetings

**Two_Sheds** · 10-07-2010, 08:37 AM

We've just had a raised bed delivered! I think it came from the Morrison's vouchers, not sure. We now need to source some topsoil that's cheaper than �125 a tonne.

If it goes well, we have room for another 3 or 4.

**zazen999** · 10-07-2010, 11:51 AM

Also, for a fruit patch; ask all the parents/gvnrs to dig out rasp suckers and pot on strawb runners and bring them all in - have a coldframe area set aside for these and as you prepare the beds, they can go in later in the year for next year's harvest.

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Advice on a checklist to set up a school veg patch please!

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