Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Community Greening Award 2011

On Sunday, November 6, 2011, the Makefield Learning Garden was honored to receive a PHS 2011 Community Greening Award.  The Hauck and Schaffer Families attended the award reception on behalf of Makefield Elementary. Recognition was given  for all of the hard work that the Makefield Community has done to make the Learning Garden dream a reality. A framed certificate was presented along with a large sign to hang in the garden. Thank you to the PHS for acknowledging  our beautiful garden.
K.

Brussels and Cabbage and Chard, Oh My!

Finally, after weeks of planning, scheduling, and rain delays, the cool weather veggies are all planted.
Lettuce, cabbage, brocolli, cauliflower, kale, chard, brussel sprouts, turnips, radishes, spinach, carrots,
bok choy, beets, arugula.....Whew! Who knew there was so much to plant in the Fall?

Grades K-2 worked hard digging, planting, and creating beautiful plant markers for their
plants. The seeds are sprouting, some a bit more slowly than others. The plants are thriving in this
recent spell of cool weather. The lettuce is almost ready for a delicious salad.

In the coming weeks, we will  spread a nice blanket of mulched leaves over these veggies
and, hopefully, many will survive over the winter.

Look forward to photos of all of the crops coming in.

Did I forget to mention that garlic will be planted in early December? I really think that a garden never sleeps!!!

An Apple a Day

A few weeks ago, the parents and children of Miss Gallagher's first grade class, donated and planted a dwarf apple tree in the Learning Garden, in memory of Miss Gallagher's father who recently passed away.
What a heartfelt way to honor someone so special.

Yesterday, two additional apple trees were planted, on either side of that first tree, so that
they will cross pollinate and produce beautiful apples in the coming years.

On your next visit to the garden, stop by and see how the trees are doing.

They are absolutely beautiful!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Below is information about our most recent award!!! Way to go and congrats to all who've made Makefield a school to be proud of!! K.

 ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP AWARD FOR 2011 
At the last meeting of the EAC on Wed. Oct. 12, 2011 by a unanimous decision, the Environmental Stewardship Award has been given to the Makefield Learning Garden and the “Green Team” of Makefield Elementary School. 
The “Green Team” is composed of Donna Mc Cormick-Miller, Principal; Roberta Stafford, LMT resident; Tom Guest, 3rd Grade Teacher; Jim Parsons, Gym Teacher, Jim Bray, LMT resident & EAC member; and Susan Mazzitelli, LMT resident. 
It also helps support the Sustainability Plan that has been developed as part of our “Cool Cities Award” recognition.  An award ceremony will be arranged for a later date.  They have a blog at http://mklearningarden.blogspot.com/ 
later date.  They have a blog at http://mklearningarden.blogspot.com/ <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1027598256&msgid=1990496&act=V8DY&c=415949&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fmklearningarden.blogspot.com%2F> 

K.

'lil Sprouts

The 'lil Sprouts in Makefield's K-2nd classes have been busy planting cool

weather veggies these past two weeks. Between the raindrops, they've

managed to get most of the plants and seeds in the beds. We were so excited

to see the little sprouts of the radish and beet seeds pushing through

the dirt. Next to go in is brussel sprouts, if we can locate some plants.

We're already thinking of recipes for all of these cool weather veggies.

Check back with us and see what's sprouting next week. 

K.

Seeds from a Neighbor.

I stopped by Cunningham's Hardware Store in Morrisville today, after searching high and low for cool weather seeds for the garden. Rick was kind enough to donate all of the seeds (and then some....) to the

garden. What a kind gesture! Here's a shout out to Rick and our friends at Cunningham's Hardware. Thank you!

Time for bed? No way!

Fall is that time of year when most people are thinking about putting their gardens to "bed".
Cleaning up, pulling out, raking and trimming- preparing the beds for a long winter's nap.
Not here at Makefield. We're just getting ready to begin our fall planting. Yes, we've cleaned up
the summer veggies that were very kind to us and trimmed and raked, here and there. But, we are also
preparing the beds for a bountiful crop of cool weather veggies. Think- beets, broccoli, radishes, swiss chard, winter carrots, turnips, cauliflower, kale, spinach, and lettuce. In December we'll add some garlic to the mix. The K-2nd grade classes are getting their shovels ready for the upcoming planting sessions. There is a lot going on at the Makefield Learning Garden in the Fall. Time for bed? No way! We're just getting started.

Learning Garden Update

The recent heat was brutal but with faithful watering and some help from mother nature, the Garden faired well.  I made the first delivery to the Morrisville Presbyterian Food Pantry this morning and they were so thankful.  I was able to deliver bags of fresh picked lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini and cherry tomatoes.  I plan to make a delivery each week as long as the harvest allows.

The Garden has been nominated for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Community Greening Award.  PHS representatives will be visiting the Garden in the next few weeks to judge the Garden on appearance, maintenance, sustainability, variety of plants and other criteria. We will need a little help keeping up on the weeds to look extra nice for our visitors.   Wish us luck!

Happy gardening!

Learning Garden Update

Mary, Mary quite contrary how does your garden grow? In two short weeks since the start of summer break, the garden has really taken off.  The pesky beetles that were snacking on the tomato plants have met their destiny and only a few show up occasionally.  The tomatoes have finally sprouted and they should start to turn red soon.  The yellow squash and cucumbers are growing to record size in a matter of days.  See the cucumbers below and how amazing they look growing up the netting.  The zucchini and peppers are a little slow to bloom but any day now.  The produce is becoming so much that I think it is time to start donating the produce to our local food bank for others to enjoy or harvest.

The perennial gardens are also in full bloom.  Thanks to our faithful watering families, the garden is thriving and happy. Each time I am in the garden, friendly butterflies pay a visit.  One minor oversight of not mulching the perennial gardens in the spring has led to an army of weeds.  I worked tirelessly over the last few days to weed (yuck!) and mulched the beds to stave off any further weeds - much better!

Enjoy the 4th of July!

Learning Garden Update

The Mazzitelli family visited the garden last night to setup for summer watering.  It was great to see other families and kids looking in on the garden.  The yellow squash and zucchini are growing like crazy.  Look at the size of the first harvest below!  The tomatoes are having a tough time because we have some unwanted visitors snacking on the plants.  I think they are Colorado Potato Beetles and will call the Penn State Master Gardener Agricultural Extension today to double check and how to treat them organically.  The green beans, peas and peppers are taking their time, but will really take off soon.  The Lettuce and Basil look amazing.  The perennials are really coming along and we spotted a bird I have never seen in the area and some butterflies.