First Potatoes planted and First Compost Station Up!

Today we planted some of our seed potatoes into bags.  The weather this week has been really cold, but hopefully it will warm up soon so they can start to grow.

They have good strong shoots on them ready to grow...

 

Varieties were Rocket, Salad Blue, Orla and Rudolf (guess which one we thought might be good for a Christmas dinner later in the year?!)

We moved the bags outside to catch some rain and light - they are the only things that will be safe from the rabbits just now!

 

Earlier in the week, Kieran helped to knock the posts into the ground for our first "Compost Station" - a leaf-mold pile at the community centre end of the site.

 

It now contains leaves (thanks to Mrs Brown for bringing them in!) and...

 

 ...an information panel and orienteering stamp for the Composting Challenge.

During the challenge, pupils will collect the uniquely shaped stamp on their worksheet and answer questions on leaf-mold.

 

In other news this week, we made a start on the second composting station for the challenge - a perspex "tube" that comfrey leaves will rot down in.

The four sides needed sticking together (it takes 24 hours to set!) so we needed to make formers and use clamps to hold it all together before applying the glue.  The weather was very stormy - hail and thunder so we were glad of the shed to be able to shelter in at times!

 

 Compost from the old school site has now also been transferred into two of our dalek bins - ready to use on growing areas as we create them.

Also this week, we were proud as a school to be awarded the status of a "United Nations Rights Respecting School".  We were also assessed for two other awards (the results of which are yet to be decided).  They are for "creative learning" and "working towards employment".  It was great to have our outdoor learning and gardening work show-cased for these awards - represented here with Kieran's bug hotel, Rachel's laminated information sheets and the potting station under the table.  We hope to keep up this good work and continue to expand the potential for future pupils to experience a wide range of learning through creating and enhancing the garden spaces.