Wrapping Up a Bountiful Year in the School Garden

Term four kicked off with a delivery of fresh garden soil from Te Puke Landscape Supplies. After winter, the soil had settled, so topping it up and mixing in some fresh soil was beneficial. There's something about boys and trucks; they were thrilled when Mike arrived with the delivery.

In one of the freshly prepared beds, we planted Kumara Tipu, which we grew ourselves in term 3 by letting a kumara sprout in water. The tamariki took the planting seriously, measuring the shoots about 30cm apart with a tape measure!

With year 1/2 now involved in the garden, we explored one morning to see what was growing. We discovered a picture-perfect broccoli and lots of rainbow carrots. The whole class pulled out a colorful carrot each, and the joy on their faces was rewarding. It's unbelievable that 27 carrots grew in just one box, it remains the kids' favourite!

On rainy days, we wisely used our time to paint our pergola frame in the shed. We chose a bright beachy blue called Hullabaloo, matching the vibrant school colors in the surroundings. The pergola frame will soon be assembled, creating a great feature entrance to our school garden.

Approaching Christmas, the school planned a twilight market for the community with various activities and goods for purchase. We creatively contributed garden-related items for sale, including seed packets made with year one from our amazing calendula flowers and herb salt made with year 5, using dried herbs from our school garden. The tamariki were creative with the labels, and the herb salt was a hit, selling out!

At the term's end, I bid farewell to the year six learners who have been with me since the garden journey began in 2023. For a fun end-of-year activity, we harvested a bumper crop of potatoes and cooked them up, creating an elf's kitchen with different stations for scrubbing, cutting, and spicing while listening to Christmas songs. It was a great farewell for year six.

Lastly, a picture of two year six boys planting 'Amy,' the apple tree, as a Center piece in the middle of the school garden. By today, the tamariki have counted about 15 apples growing on it! 

I look forward to returning in 2024 and continuing to inspire gardening ideas for the tamariki at Suzanne Aubert Catholic School to enjoy!