Ms. Earley's Gardening Blog
HPJH September 2023
This is my final post about the HPJH School garden. I'm so sad not to be at HPJH but VERY proud because those last few hours we spent weeding the garden in Spring 2023 (thank you to the current grade 8s) really paid off! The soil must be very fertile; it has produced some beautiful green beans, tomatoes, chives, strawberries, rhubarb and mint. In the last bed (pollinator garden) you'll find some beautiful flowers. Why not cut a few and bring them to your favourite teacher? Thanks to Lucy Barker's Grandad Mel, for staking the tomatoes, and keeping an eye on the garden over the summer.
HPJH October 12th 2022
Have you ever dug your own potatoes? That's what the 8-2 homeroom did last week, and it was pretty amazing. Every shovelful of dirt revealed several lovely red-skinned potatoes - some of them were huge! The next day, Ms. Earley boiled them and served them to the students with butter and chives (HPJH garden-grown, of course!). It was a nice pre-Thanksgiving treat.
HPJH Sep. 22, 2022
Well, the garden is looking BEAUTIFUL! Our beans are doing well, and they are so crisp and tasty. Our corn looks like it's growing. I even see some squash developing in the Three Sisters garden. In the pizza garden, we're getting some new tomatoes in, and the basil is full and lush. Finally - those spuds! I can't wait to get some shovels out and dig potatoes. Let's hope that hurricane Fiona is kind to our little school garden!
This is my final post about the HPJH School garden. I'm so sad not to be at HPJH but VERY proud because those last few hours we spent weeding the garden in Spring 2023 (thank you to the current grade 8s) really paid off! The soil must be very fertile; it has produced some beautiful green beans, tomatoes, chives, strawberries, rhubarb and mint. In the last bed (pollinator garden) you'll find some beautiful flowers. Why not cut a few and bring them to your favourite teacher? Thanks to Lucy Barker's Grandad Mel, for staking the tomatoes, and keeping an eye on the garden over the summer.
HPJH October 12th 2022
Have you ever dug your own potatoes? That's what the 8-2 homeroom did last week, and it was pretty amazing. Every shovelful of dirt revealed several lovely red-skinned potatoes - some of them were huge! The next day, Ms. Earley boiled them and served them to the students with butter and chives (HPJH garden-grown, of course!). It was a nice pre-Thanksgiving treat.
HPJH Sep. 22, 2022
Well, the garden is looking BEAUTIFUL! Our beans are doing well, and they are so crisp and tasty. Our corn looks like it's growing. I even see some squash developing in the Three Sisters garden. In the pizza garden, we're getting some new tomatoes in, and the basil is full and lush. Finally - those spuds! I can't wait to get some shovels out and dig potatoes. Let's hope that hurricane Fiona is kind to our little school garden!
HPJH AUG 31st, 2022:
I am sorry to report that on August 29th, the school garden was vandalised. Tomatoes were "picked" and thrown at the school building. Rhubarb was pulled up. It is such a shame because those tomatoes looked so healthy, and would have been perfectly ripe for about the second week of school. Vandalism of property is a crime, so if you see this happening, please report it to the police.
I am sorry to report that on August 29th, the school garden was vandalised. Tomatoes were "picked" and thrown at the school building. Rhubarb was pulled up. It is such a shame because those tomatoes looked so healthy, and would have been perfectly ripe for about the second week of school. Vandalism of property is a crime, so if you see this happening, please report it to the police.
HPJH August 2022:
The garden is doing well thanks to our garden volunteers. Crops that have prospered are potatoes, corn, tomatoes, beans and herbs. The strawberries are doing OK, but will be more abundant next year. The tomatoes seem to grow better on the south side of the building; the ones we planted facing the courts are weak. Saying that - these are our plants from the Tomatosphere project (cross-curricular with Science and the Learning Centre) so maybe that had some impact.
The garden is doing well thanks to our garden volunteers. Crops that have prospered are potatoes, corn, tomatoes, beans and herbs. The strawberries are doing OK, but will be more abundant next year. The tomatoes seem to grow better on the south side of the building; the ones we planted facing the courts are weak. Saying that - these are our plants from the Tomatosphere project (cross-curricular with Science and the Learning Centre) so maybe that had some impact.
Summer VolunteersEvery summer, we search for volunteers to work in our HRCE school gardens.
Gardening Volunteer Tasks
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HRCE Edible School Gardens
The HRCE has a fantastic scheme to support edible school gardens. When combined with a team of volunteers, the results can be amazing. Whether the actual harvest is great or small, gardening together is an exercise in teamwork, stewardship and relationship building. Gardens also beautify the urban environment, and attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Many links to the curriculum can be found in a garden. Finally, gardens are nice places to hang out! As an HRCE teacher, I've helped create gardens at Citadel High School, Joe Howe Elementary, and Highland Park Junior High, often with the help of my Dad, AKA "Grandad Mel," a skilled gardener and generous community volunteer. Thanks, Dad! |
Highland Park Junior High 2021-2023
PIZZA GARDEN - tomatoes and herbs in raised bed by the grade 7 door. Year 2: tomatoes only
POTATOES AND BEANS - planted in ground near trellis. Scarlet runner beans. Year 2: beans only
VEGGIE GARDEN: first box (4x4): onions, tomatoes, chives. Year 2: chives only. Perennial.
THREE SISTERS GARDEN: second box (4x8) corn, squash, beans. Year 2: Bush beans only
DESSERT GARDEN: third box (4x4)- rhubarb, mint, strawberries. Perennial.
POLLINATOR GARDEN: fourth box (4x4): flowers (Black-eyed Susans, Shasta daises etc). Perennial.
POTATOES AND BEANS - planted in ground near trellis. Scarlet runner beans. Year 2: beans only
VEGGIE GARDEN: first box (4x4): onions, tomatoes, chives. Year 2: chives only. Perennial.
THREE SISTERS GARDEN: second box (4x8) corn, squash, beans. Year 2: Bush beans only
DESSERT GARDEN: third box (4x4)- rhubarb, mint, strawberries. Perennial.
POLLINATOR GARDEN: fourth box (4x4): flowers (Black-eyed Susans, Shasta daises etc). Perennial.