Monday, May 7, 2012

A Walking Field Trip Through the Garden

On Friday we visited our school garen.  Dr. Brenda Zenk, a parent of students at Chets maintains the garden for the school.  Lots of classes have planted flowers and different veggies.  We were able to recognize corn, beans and squash from our Three Sisters Garden.  In this school garden the corn, beans and squash are not planted together in mounds but are planted seperately in rows.  The squash has yellow flowers and the corn is as tall as we are!  The peas and beans had stakes with strings so the vines could grow on the strings.  Dr. Zank told us that some of the peas and beans were ripe and that each student could pick a ripe bean or pea pod to take home and open.





We also saw spinach growing and green tomatoes that weren't ready to be picked.  One student thought the tomatoes were potatoes (which is one of the reasons why we are visiting the garden!)  We also saw watermelon just coming up and potatoes that will be dug up next week by the class that planted them.  Dr. Zenk had just cut some broccoli for her 2nd grade daughter to have for lunch!  To our surprise a few of the children recognized the radish plants!  We even saw pretty purple and pink flowers.  We planted two different types of beans to add to the garden.  We can't wait to see if they are like the beans that we picked or different. How thankful we are to have a parent who is willing to provide such an engaging experience for our youngest gardeners!  Thank you Dr. Zenk!

2 comments:

  1. The garden is such a great idea! Where do all the fruits and veggies go once ripe?

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  2. @Kim The fruits and veggies that were ripe before school let out went to the children that planted them. That's why our kids got some of the beans as they ripened. I am assuming Dr. Zenk is coming over periodically spreading the wealth as it ripens over the summer and probably Mrs. Swidorsky is picking corn, bean, and squash from the Three Sisters garden that is planted behind the 5th grade condos. If there is enough my guess is that it is being shared with families in Portside that have children in "Kamp Kenzie."

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