Vegetables Gone Array & More

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Stonewall Gardens has an additional area on the campus that has been set aside and recognized as the community garden.  Two rows became available, so Mr. Painter (outdoor lab instructor) was contacted.  It was explained that the first graders wanted to conduct extra experiments outside of our assigned rows in the main garden.  He gladly put his back into the preparation work for the eager students.

Mr. Painter agreed to meet with the classes to introduce the students to the idea of a uniform pattern of planting.  The students were given ply wood that had predrilled holes in a pattern.  The students were instructed to place skewers into each hole to create a depression in the soil.  They were given green & red lettuce , sweet peas, beets, spinach, and garlic.  Our experiment was to observe if the seeds/plants would truly grow in a patterns.  This experiment would take several months of observations, watering, fertilizing, measuring, illustrating, and most important-patience.

The next step to the experiment would be conducted on the adjacent row.  The students were given the same seeds, excluding the garlic, and instructed to scatter the seeds in random patterns.  We would compare the two rows.  Part of the experiment would be to see which row would produce the best.  This same day each row was fertilized with worm castings to enhance growth in a natural way.  We went back to the classroom to create a graph with our predictions as to which row would be the largest producer.

Growth was quick and patterns were established as we predicted.

Students observed and agreed that the seeds they broadcasted were already showing the most growth.

The students were given an opportunity earlier to implement a watering system for the two rows.  They, in teams, set up a soaking hose that had been fitted with smaller extension lines.  They were given the freedom to select where they thought it best to place the lines.  It was their responsibility to secure each system.  The teams, on a rotation schedule, were in charge of checking and watering the rows weekly.

The rows survived the freezing temperatures.  Following Mr. Painter's advice it was time to harvest.  Students broke into harvesting and collecting teams.  The teams went to work removing the fall foliage that naturally protected our crops.  They harvested the red/green lettuce and spinach.  The collection teams went around with bags which would later be weighed in the classroom.  The total amount was approximately 10.5 pounds.  The students feel this to be astonishing considering the weather conditions and lack of protection the crops had to endure.

Experiment conclusion:  The row that was planted using the random method produced more becuase there was not a limit on the amound of seeds broadcasted.

The classes were ready to enjoy the harvest.  Salad dressing donations had been received from parents.  Each child had the opportunity to try 5 different dressings, plus one surprise-Sophie's Secret Homemade Recipe.  Let the debates begin!  Many ooh's & ahh's, but when the votes were counted, we had a tie between Sophie's dressing and the Italian dressing.

Conclusions:  Our own Sophie may have a future in the food industry and gardening may be hard work, but the rewards are worth the efforts.

Dilemma:  We left the rows alone to take their natural course.  Mr. Painter advised us to finalize the last harvest so we could prepare for the summer planting.  When we went to harvest we did not forsee that our rows had become a natural habitat for lady beetles.  We went back to the classroom to have an ethical debate.  We researched the lady beetle cycle/lenght and decided to wait.  Although this area had been previously harvested we were able to harvest 22 one-gallon zip-lock bags and save the lady beetles!