Ogden school garden tour recap, resources and connection opportunities
Recap written by Bekah Marten, School Garden Coordinator, WSU extension Clark County Master Gardener Program
Hello School Garden Enthusiasts!
I wanted to reach out to you all and say "Thank You" to those who were able to make it out to the Open School Garden Tour at Ogden Elementary in May. A number of people came out to see the beautiful gardens at Ogden Elementary and to participate in a Plant & Seed Swap. We toured the rock cycle, sensory, butterfly, native plant, and raised bed gardens located in the school's courtyard. The Learning Meadow was beautiful with the lupine in full bloom. If you were unable to make this event, don't worry. There will be more Open School Garden Tours coming up!
There were MANY seeds and plants available at the swap. Thank you to those who brought some to share. If you need seeds for your school garden, send me an email. I am happy to bring some seeds to you!
Stay Connected
Did you know we have a Facebook group just for those who are interested in all things school gardens? School Gardens Clark County is a private Facebook group for people interested in creating, maintaining and improving school gardens in Clark County. This is a great place for people to connect and share garden ideas, ask questions of others with any school garden challenges, and to hear more about what is happening in our area's school gardens.
You can find the group here:
Seed tape activity
Resources
DIY Seed Tape - Some of you may know how incredibly small carrot seeds are and the difficulty this poses when planting outside. A great work around for this is DIY seed tape! Making seed tape is a perfect activity to do with your class in the winter or on rainy days. At planting time, you can walk out with your seed tapes and place them right in the garden. You can glue your seeds on strips of newsprint, or onto 12" squares of paper towel (a good choice for square foot garden plots). Carrots, radishes, and lettuce seeds are all great choices for this activity. See the link below for a lesson plan from Food Corps that can be used with your students.
Lesson Plan for making seed tape:
Grade-2-Seed-Tape.pdf (foodcorps.org)
Fall Vegetable Planting Guide - With our cold, wet, and even snowy spring weather, some of our school gardens were not able to be planted before the end of the year. If you would like to have a planted garden to welcome your students back to the garden in September, consider planting a few things before you leave in June and then add a few more when you come back to your classrooms in August. If your school garden does not have an irrigation system, hold off on planting until you come back in August. Use these growing guides to see what seeds and starts can be planted in the late summer for a Fall Veggie Harvest.
What's Next?
We are currently planning Open School Garden Tours for the 2022-23 school year. If there is a topic that you would like to see presented at one of these tours, we would love your feedback! Or, if you would like to host a School Garden Tour, let us know.
Get in touch!
BEKAH MARTEN
SCHOOL GARDEN COORDINATOR
Clark County Master Gardener Program
Office: 564-397-5712
Email: rebekah.marten@wsu.edu