Forums

I have done school gardening in several different environments  (two different temperate, one high desert).  I do both indoor and outdoors.  At all of the schools, the focus has been on edibles. 

The interest does cycle up and down, but we treat the garden the way we would a pet; something in our environment that we have taken responsibility for, which helps keeps the interest going. Also, we look at the life cycle of our outdoor plants and observe them regularly, including looking for sap as evidence of damage, and discovering the unique ecosystem of each plant. Another tip is to plant herbs that survive the winter, so that you can always find them.  Mint and rosemary are great for that. 

Indoors, I have luck with rooting herbs and growing lettuce

Hope this helps!

Anne

Hi Francesca!

I am a pre service teacher in Iowa and grew up in Chicago so most of the gardening I have seen in schools are indoors. I have experienced both floral and vegetable, but mostly floral. I have never seen this be a year long project, maybe a month or two at the most. The things being planted are often chosen by how long it takes them to grow to the point you want them to in the classroom and the shorter period of time it takes with the biggest outcome, the better! Maybe you could find something that takes a while to grow but also has significant growing points that change the appearance of what your planting. This should help keep students engaged throughout the year.

At this time of the year, outdoor gardens aren’t practical for many of us.  But try indoor gardens!

My students and I use this book for rooting and growing kitchen scraps

Don’t Throw It, Grow It by Deborah Peterson and Millicent Selsam   ISBN 978-1-60342-064-8

This is a good teacher reference book on plants, and reads well

How Plants Work by Linda Chalker-Scott ISBN 978-1-60469-338-6

and this is a great resource for literature, year round

Junior Master Gardener’s Literature in the Garden  http://jmgkids.us/lit/

Of course, Peggy Ashbook’s Science in the Early Years from NSTA Press is an excellent resource!

And here are some collections by fellow NSTA members of plants

Nancy Lopez “ Plants”

https://learningcenter.nsta.org/mylibrary/collection.aspx?id=oePFm/p61eM_E

LaToya Pugh  “Gardening Collection”

https://learningcenter.nsta.org/mylibrary/collection.aspx?id=g/xIVZpte6c_E

Mindi Eskridge  “Gardening Science Collection”

https://learningcenter.nsta.org/mylibrary/collection.aspx?id=vg1vHExokjg_E

Now to another seed catalog.  Spring WILL come!

Anne