Term four flew by so quickly; we've had a busy time in the garden preparing, planting, and harvesting! It's incredible what we can find each week to harvest—always fresh herbs bundled up for the tamariki to take home, greens like kale and silverbeet, our first rhubarb stalks, and, of course, our end-of-term garden gold potatoes!
We planted seed potatoes last term in three different garden beds, so we were lucky enough to harvest potatoes every week. As we focus on the environment and aim to be plastic-free, we creatively folded old newspapers into paper bags for storing, giving away, and taking home the potatoes. This simple and easy recycling method brought joy to the kids as they had fun mastering the folding technique.
We've also been busy preparing the garden beds by mixing in compost, weeding, and planting lots of summer vegetables like cucumber, pumpkin, tomatoes, courgettes, and the kids' favourite, "watermelon." Fingers crossed we will grow some!
Another highlight was planting kumara tipu, which we grew by letting a kumara sit in water until it grew shoots. We carefully took them off with their roots and planted them in a prepared garden bed.
An end-of-year fun activity was to recycle old paper by ripping it up into little bits and soaking it in water overnight. We rolled it out between two towels, sprinkled on seeds, and the tamariki cut the dried seed paper into shapes. We turned them into gift tags they can tie onto a present. This tag can be planted in the garden, and it will grow flowers.
It's great to see the fruit trees we planted a year ago carrying their first fruits. Lots of beautiful flowers are in bloom for bees and butterflies, and our rainwater tanks are full of "free" water for our young gardeners to fill up their watering cans and care for their seedlings. Our garden is always full of surprises from all the hard work we've put in over the two years I've been working at St. Thomas More Catholic School. I'm looking forward to continuing in 2024 with new ideas and projects the children will enjoy !
