As teachers start to head back to school, we get a lot of pictures of weedy gardens sent to us with questions such as ” Help! How do I clean out my gardens?” or “Where do I even begin?” We get that teachers are already so busy and adding, “clean out the garden” to an […]
Hard to believe it, but we are in August folks! For educators everywhere this signals starting anew and your schoolyard garden is no exception. As a member of the Schoolyard Gardens (SYG) Program there are a few things we need you to add to your to-do list – Complete your Annual SYG Enrollment Form – […]
This week I’m excited to spotlight the garden at Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired (CCVI). CCVI has been a member of the Schoolyard Gardens program for about 5 years and they generally grow in all three seasons. They are huge fans of sweet potatoes and in 2019 harvested an impressive 100 lbs.! Their garden […]
Our next school spotlight is North Kansas City High School in KCMO just north of the river. It’s been a pleasure working with Industrial Tech teacher Stephen Wagner since July 2021. Mr. Wagner started the high school’s garden club “Growing Northtown” which consists of about 30 students and 10 teachers. Students designed and built the […]
For the next two months, our SYG blog will spotlight a few of the wonderful schoolyard garden sites we have the pleasure of assisting. Each week, we’ll zoom in on a different school, sharing and celebrating their garden stories. We hope you’ll be as inspired as we are by these rock star gardeners! I’ll kick […]
The Beanstalk Children’s Garden staff have been working long hours cleaning out and planting each section of the Beanstalk getting it ready for their official opening day on June 1st. Every year I am in awe of the garden’s transformation from a sparse and meticulously planted garden into a lush, overflowing beautiful oasis of fruits […]
Check out Claire’s new video on how to make quick pickled onions! This fast and simple recipe showcases a delicious and refreshing way to use onions from your garden. This video shows how to make quick pickled onions using red onions, but you can use this same recipe on other onions, as well as carrots, […]
This week we’d like to highlight another one of our brand new garden recipe videos – Grated Raw Beet Salad! This citrusy, bright recipe makes a wonderfully fresh side dish, just perfect for the hotter days ahead. This recipe is also simple, utilizing a few pantry staples along with the beets and herbs from your […]
Planting with students in the garden is always a fun time, but sometimes can result in seeds planted not in rows but rather in overcrowded mounds. Thinning or pulling out seedlings to make space for others to grow, is especially important for your root vegetables (carrots, radishes, turnips) and even some greens (mustard greens, swiss […]
Besides the joy and delight of being outside, touching the soil, and planting seeds, another big goal of Schoolyard Gardens is to increase access to fresh vegetables and encourage eating of said veggies! This year we are surveying students, asking them which veggies they would eat again from the garden. You can download the activity […]
