The most exciting part of growing vegetables is getting to eat all the yummy veggies. While the Schoolyard Gardens team is partial to eating veggies straight from the garden, it’s fun to try them in a few inventive ways as well. Below are a few of our favorite kid-friendly recipes. All of these recipes require little […]
Great Garden-Themed Books and Activities to Break Out This Winter
Winter is officially here and trips to your schoolyard garden probably won’t be happening until you plant again in March. Keep your students interested and talking about the garden with some easy garden-themed activities you could do in the classroom. Discuss what your students did and did not enjoy about the garden and have the […]
This Winter, Make Garden Signs with Your Students to Prepare for the Growing Season!
Have you ever had trouble identifying plants in your garden, or forgotten what you planted in a bed? Plant markers help students and adults alike with vegetable identification. Rather than using the small plastic markers that can fall out or wash off, consider making larger, more permanent signs to make your schoolyard garden more informative […]
Burke Elementary Schoolyard Garden Growing Strong for Seven Years
The vegetable garden at Burke Elementary in the Hickman Mills school district has continued to thrive over the last seven years thanks to the continued dedication of one teacher—Swapnam Kumar. Swapnam is a teacher for 4th grade English language learners. She is passionate about gardening and has partnered with KCCG since 2009, when the students […]
Sumner Academy Vegetable Garden Thrives Under Student Direction
The students in garden club at Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences are a committed bunch. They have been single-handedly maintaining their four vegetable beds, their raspberry bed and their asparagus bed. The students come out regularly to water and harvest from their garden–this fall, they were harvesting their summer crops (tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers) […]
KCCG to Partner with The Family Conservancy
The Schoolyard Gardens program is excited to start working with The Family Conservancy’s “Growing Healthy Kids” project. The project will focus on healthy nutrition and physical activity by introducing the “ I Am Moving, I Am Learning” curriculum to students in local preschools. With the help and guidance of our program, the Family Conservancy will […]
How to Grow Great Garlic in Your Schoolyard Garden!
Garlic not only adds flavor to any dish, it also has many medicinal uses. It is antibiotic, antibacterial, antifungal and is said to lower blood pressure and even may prevent cancer! Kansas City Community Gardens offers two types of garlic: Softneck garlic is generally more productive than hardneck garlic and stores for longer, but it […]
Using Row Cover in Your Schoolyard Garden: Protect Your Veggies from Dropping Temperatures!
Since schools plant their fall gardens somewhat late in the season due to the school calendar, some vegetables need a little protection from frost as winter approaches! Keep an eye on the weather. As you notice temperatures dropping this fall, install row cover over your veggies so that they last a little bit longer. Row […]
Cleaning Out Your Schoolyard Garden For the Winter
Now that the temperatures are dropping, and your fall garden is slowing down, it’s time to think about wrapping up the growing season in your schoolyard garden. Before winter comes, and it’s too chilly to work outside with your students, you will want to clean out your garden so that it’s neat, empty and ready […]
Foreign Language Academy Harvest Party
The middle schoolers in Mr. Robinson’s class have been tending to their vegetable garden at Foreign Language Academy almost every school day this semester by watering, weeding, and observing the growth of their vegetable plants. Last week the students harvested red and golden beets, spinach, Swiss chard, snap peas, radishes, carrots and kale, and were […]