Here at KCCG we are doing a lot of planning and preparation for spring. One of our favorite garden activities is planning out the gardens for the upcoming seasons. Today we are going to share the lesson plan on the blog so you and your school can start planning your spring and/or summer garden!
Why do we plan out our gardens? We do this so we know what kinds of vegetables we want to grow, how to space out the plants and seeds, and how many plants and seeds to order. It also helps us to use the garden space well by planting crops that have similar growing times near each other so the beds can be turned over and planted for the next season at the same time.
SUPPLIES:
- Raised Bed Garden Grids & Vegetable Printouts
3 foot wide beds (Download & Print)
4 foot wide beds (Download & Print)
- Cool & Warm Season Planting Guide
- Scissors
- Glue Sticks
1. Start by printing out the garden grids and vegetable sheets that match the size of your garden beds (3 feet wide or 4 feet wide). These files can be found linked up in the supplies list.
2. Have the list ready of what you want to plant—the vegetables will need to be in season. Refer to our Cool and Warm season plants list to see what KCCG has available to order. Try to limit four veggie types per bed.
3. First, begin by drawing out your garden beds on a whiteboard, so that all the students can see. Add a compass and significant landmarks (trees, the school building, etc.) to the map. Write out all the vegetables on the whiteboard, and have the students divide up the vegetables between the beds, depending on how much they would like to plant of each.
4. Divide the class into smaller groups so that each group works on planning out one raised bed each. Provide each group with one raised bed grid and scissors, and a sheet of the vegetable images that are going into their beds.
5. Ask the students to discuss their plan before cutting out their vegetables. How many of each vegetable should they plant? Have the students add a compass to the bottom of each of the garden grids.
6. Invite the students to start cutting and spacing out their vegetables on the paper grids. Do not set out the glue sticks until the end, when the placement of the vegetables has been finalized.
7. Once each group has completed mapping out their garden bed and placing the vegetable images, pass out the glue sticks and have the students glue each piece of paper to the grid.
8. Next, have each student count how many of each vegetable is included in each bed. This will give the students an idea of how many plants and seeds they will need for their garden, and how much food their garden will produce.
9. Fill out your SYG plant order form so the Schoolyard Gardens Team can put together your plants and seeds.
10. Display the cut and paste garden grids in your classroom and then bring them out with you on planting day. Divide up the class in the same small groups on planting day, so that each group is planting the bed that they worked on.
For more garden curriculum ideas, visit our website!
