Langley Middle School Students in the Garden

With the start of school came new opportunities for students to participate in the garden. Leslie Woods' class started working in the garden the first Monday and has been visiting every week. Amira, Dawson, Tristan, Nate, and Shelby have spent the last month learning where their food comes from and helping harvest food for the Good Cheer Food Bank.Their first day in the garden they learned about the life cycle of plants from seed to plant, flower and fruit. They collected lettuce seeds, mixed potting soil, and planted radishes, parsley and lettuce to grow in their classroom.

 

Everyone’s favorite project is pulling carrots. And of course, we always take time to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Their most recent project has been clearing the squash beds that Jay Freundlich’s 6th grade science class planted the previous spring. The first task was to harvest all the squash, 314 pounds in total!            After the harvest, they used logic to estimate how much each of the pumpkins weighed. Next we will work on removing the squash vines and weeds to make way for winter rye (a cover crop that will hold the beds for the winter) and planting flower bulbs to give the garden extra beauty next spring!- written by Stephanie Turco, Langley Middle School Garden Coordinator, and apprentice in the Community Gardening Leadership Training