What’s Been Happening at TCS Gardens This Term?

Before the classes even got started this term, the kai growers were waiting for me.  They had discovered beans in the garden.  The sunny holidays had dried the pods well and it was time to gather black beans to save for planting.  I had lots of helpers, and that was just morning tea!

Tahatai Coast School orchard was laden with produce again this year.  We had lots of apples, a few nectarines and even nashi pears!  Our kai growers loved gathering them, tasting them (to make sure they were ok!) and then filling baskets for the kai cart to share fruit with the school whānau.

Our new entrants learned about worms and worm composting. They were super excited about spotting the striped tiger worms and loved checking on them and feeding them in our new in-ground composting bin that the older kai growers had made.

As there is change underway in the gardens, we have had to move our plants, and in the process we have learned about the different ways that plants reproduce.  Under the dahlias we discovered tubers, the broccoli gave us seeds and the strawberries sent out runners, whose roots grow down to start a new plant.  We thought this was the perfect opportunity for our kai growers to take a strawberry plant home, to care for and plant in their own gardens.  They loved decorating the pots too!

Our lunchtime Kai Growers are looking stylish this term, with their new bibs, so they don’t get lost among the tamariki playing in the gardens