vegetable gardens

OvERVIEW

Vegetable gardens on your schoolyard can take many different forms. Depending on the richness of nutrients and chemicals present in your school’s soil, gardens can be planted directly into the school grounds or maintained through raised beds or container gardens. Regardless of type or form, schoolyard gardens can transform students’ learning experience by teaching them the principles of food production, nutrition, environmental stewardship and health in a hands-on meaningful way.

Time

The most important part of schoolyard gardening project is planning - examining your school grounds, selecting the best place to plant your garden, and deciding what and when to plant. Installation of a small garden or container garden can be done in a relatively short time period, whereas raised beds require more advanced planning. Although you’ll need to water and weed over the summer, there are a number of plants that can be planted at the end of the school year and harvested in early fall.

land use

The amount of land needed will depend upon the size of garden you wish to create. If your school has limited green space or poor soil, container gardening is an excellent solution.

Important Note:

• If you plan to dig in order to plant your garden, you should first contact Miss Utility to mark underground utilties.
• If you plan to remove asphalt from or alter the grade of your schoolground, you will need to contact the Sediment and Stormwater Technical Services to receive a permit to do so. For more information, visit their Web site or contact Abdi Musse at 202.535.2978.

Materials

Materials needed for a schoolyard garden include soil and compost, mulch, vegetable plants/seeds, shovels, hand trowels, and gloves. For raised beds, non-treated lumber will also be needed.

EDUCATIONAL THEMES

Food and nutrition, plant origins, plant biology, regional cuisines, agriculture, organic gardening

Additional resources

The Edible Schoolyard: Our Garden

The Learning Garden: About Us

Garden Resources of Washington

National Gardening Association

Texas A&M University School Gardens

Garden Mosaics - Connecting youth and elders to investigate the mosaic of plants, people and cultures in gardens, to learn about science, and to act together to enhance their community.

Miss Utility: Washington DC
Miss Utility needs to be notified of any digging for gardening or forestry purposes, so that they can first mark underground utilities.

University of Massachusetts Amherst: Department of Plant and Soil Sciences
UMass offers various soil tests at reasonable costs.  Their $13 "Standard Soil Test w/Organic Matter” includes testing for pH, nutrients, lead, and percentages of organic matter. 

US Department of Agricuture: Soils
This site offers detailed information on soils and will offer an online soil survey as of June 17, 2005.

DC Department of Health, Sediment and Stormwater Technical Services Branch
If you are planning to implement a large scale project such as removing asphalt or changing the grade of your school grounds, you will need to contact the Sediment and Stormwater Technical Services to receive a permit to do so. For more information, visit their Web site or contact Abdi Musse at 202.535.2978.