Now I am on my third school garden, this time for preschoolers (2.9 – 5 yrs). The kids are involved with every aspect of the garden; planting all the vegetables and flowers, watering and fertilizing (organic), and then harvesting and cooking the food. Our little community garden plot (only 6′ x 20′) currently provides vegetable snacks for 25-30 kids (daily) for 5 months out of the year. Along the way, we have discovered some great kid friendly recipes for all the vegetables we grow. Each spring, the kids start with tentative licks and pokes but by the end of the summer everyone is eating vegetables. Yes, really!  Hopefully, for these kids our school garden is the beginning of a lifetime of making healthy food choices, enjoying the outdoors and caring for the environment.

You can find on my blog; all the garden related crafts, books and activities we include in the school’s curriculum, the maintenance tasks for our plot (the abc’s of growing a school garden), and our favorite snack recipes for each vegetable we grow. Feel free to follow along or dig into the blog archives here.

Now I am on my third school garden, this time for preschoolers (2.9 – 5 yrs). The kids are involved with every aspect of the garden; planting all the vegetables and flowers, watering and fertilizing (organic), harvesting and cooking. Our little community garden plot (only 6′ x 20′) provides vegetable snacks for 25-30 kids (daily) for 4 months out of the year. Along the way, we have discovered some great kid friendly recipes for all the vegetables we grow. Each spring, the kids start of with tentative licks and pokes but by the end of the summer everyone is eating vegetables. Yes, really!  Hopefully, our school garden is the beginning of a lifetime of making healthy food choices, enjoying the outdoors and caring for the environment.

Every month I list in my blog; all the garden related crafts, books and activities we include in our curriculum, the maintenance tasks for our plot (the abc’s of growing a school garden), and our monthly snack menu and favorite recipes. Feel free to follow along or dig into the archives here.

• Arlington Street Church was the first public building in Boston’s Back Bay, a tidal basin of the Charles River that was filled in for building during the 1850s. Work began on Arlington Street Church in September, 1859. In May 1860 the cornerstone was laid at the southeast corner of the building. The 190 foot high spire was finished and the weathervane fixed in place on September 11, 1861. The building was dedicated on December 11, 1861.
• The church has a set of 16 steeple bells that was given by Deacon Jonathan Phillips, a friend of the Reverend William Ellery Channing. The bells were restored in 1960 and played on Christmas Eve for the first time in many years. They are always played by hand.
• Arlington Street Church was listed in the National and State Registers of Historic Places in 1973 and designated a landmark in 1978 by the Boston Landmarks Commission.
• The Tiffany windows in Arlington Street Church are famous for their beauty of design and execution and are believed to be the largest collection of Tiffany windows in any one church. They follow a general plan adopted in 1898 and were installed between 1898 and 1933.

Despite all of this, they have never had a church garden that was much to brag about. So we are beginning to plan a garden that better reflects the church’s community. It may inch its way across the lawn as beds expand or it may happen overnight. I seem to be leading this effort, designing, organizing a garden committee and doing whatever else it takes. You can follow along on my blog here.

Recent renovations include a new central pathway and new East Berkeley fence. Look closely at the water basins and the thresholds leading to side paths to read poetic fragments excerpted from gardeners’ conversations. Fundraising for a new fence on the Dwight ALlwy side of the garden is underway.

Today, visitors can expect to see a wide variety of plants and planting styles ranging from Asian to English to kindergarten to South End eccentric. The gardeners speak English and Chinese (Cantonese and some Mandarin), as well as Creole, Spanish and Portuguese. Volunteers translate meetings and all garden documents into Chinese. All gardeners participate in maintaining and managing the garden’s public spaces so gardeners, neighbors and tourists alike can enjoy them.

In July of 2012 SELROST voted to merge with Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN). Berkeley Garden is now part of the BNAN family of community gardens, urban farms, and open spaces throughout greater Boston. Although we have a little more help, the garden is responsible for maintaining its own open spaces, with our large parcel this can be an overwhelming task.

In the Fall of 2012, I created a maintenance calendar for the garden. Each month a group of volunteers meet to help care for all the public garden beds, paths and open areas. You can follow along at a city life. 

December, January and February are dormant months in our school garden. But we try to use the time to do some planning for the next year.

• Make a garden map, create a shopping list for plants and supplies
• Create a budget for the next year, line up donations if needed.
• Rebuild our bean, squash and pea trellises, they take quite a beating during the summer. Spring will come quickly and it’s nice to have everything ready to go out with the first planting.
• Make new signs, so many great options, here are a few to inspire you. 
• *Soak and wash our grow bags
• Clean all the kids tools and put in storage, here’s a great link.

*After use  dump out the soil and let the bag dry. After a few days of being dry, the dust and small roots will easily brush off. For most people, this is good enough. At this point the Smart Pot folds easily for storage. However, a lot of our customerswill wash the bags in OxyClean or peroxide to sterilize. They use a washing machine or dip the bag in a tub. Do not put the Bags in a dryer.

Make Snow

Make Crystals

Grow a Terrarium

Learn about Hibernation

Study Winter Birds

Study Winter Animals

Study Animal Tracks

Learn about Skat

Learn about Salt on Snow/Ice

Blow Winter Bubbles

Build a Snow Fort

Where do the Christmas Trees Go?

Recycling

Take the Earth’s Temperature

Make an Ice Sculpture

Learn about Evergreens and Conifers

Learn about Mosses

Learn about Lichens

Study Astronomy

NOVEMBER

This month we will prepare our garden plot for winter. All the kids help to strip the garden back. We spread a blanket on the ground for all the vegetables and herbs left on the plants. The rest is carried to the compost bin and dumpster.

• Remove greenery from all the garden beds, anything with disease, fungus or insects will be thrown in the dumpster. The rest is put in the compost bins.
• Remove trellis supports and mesh, wipe down or toss and prepare for storage
• Empty soil bags and let them dry in the sun, then brush and shake clean.
• Remove signs and craft projects, wash and put in storage bins for next year.
• Gather all our tools together for cleaning and storage.
• Drain and put the hose in storage.
• Make notes about what worked in the garden, and what did not.
• Hang herbs and corn in a dry dark spot to dry in the classroom.

Make a birdfeeder

Make popcorn

Make corn husk animals/dolls

Dry a Gourd

Study a Spider Web

Make a Spider Web Print

Make a Butterfly Feeder

Plant Garlic in the Garden

Collect Seeds

Make a Fall Leaf Collection

Plant Spring Bulbs

Make a Leaf Pile

Make a Leaf Rubbing

Make a Bark Rubbing

Leaf Printing

Make a Sun Print

Make a Spore Print

Study Mushrooms

Leaf Waxing

Plant Fall Vegetables

Make a Cold Frame

Plant a Tree

Make a Wattle Fence or Hut

Things begin to wind down in the garden in Fall. It might generally feel like a mess with plants spilling over their supports, yellow leaves starting to appear and everything looking a bit dull. Despite a lackluster appearance, it is still a productive time in the garden. We continue to care for and harvest fresh vegetables from the garden well into October.

SEPTEMBER

• Keep up with the Big Five: watering, weeding, feeding, thinning, and cultivating.
• Pest Prevention. Be vigilant about pests and intervene early. Handpick or use organic sprays, as needed.
• Stop Pushing Vegetables, it’s far better to pull the plants out and compost them if you’ve had your fill.
• Harvest Time. Harvest frequently to keep plants productive.

OCTOBER

• Extend your season and protect tender plants against frost with cold frames, hot caps, cloches and floating row covers. Here’s a link to durable row covers you can use season after season.
• Planting and Transplanting. Plant garlic and shallots before the ground freezes, here is a great link with the process. Transplant or divide perennials such as daylilies, coneflowers and herbs, here is great link with a description if this is new to you.
• Clean and cure pumpkins, gourds, and winter squashes in a cool, airy place sheltered from the sun for a month or so. Bathe them with a weak bleach solution to prevent molds from forming, and take care not to damage stems or they may rot.
• Remove spent plants from garden beds and compost them. Do not compost weeds gone to seed or any diseased plants.
• Plant spring bulbs such as daffodils, crocus, and hyacinths if you want a reason to visit the garden in March, instructions are here.
• Plant a green manure crop in your vegetable beds to replenish the soil. We use a winter rye, but you can choose from many different kinds of legumes and/or grasses. Here is a great link explaining the process and benefits green manure.