While we have come to the end of another school year, it is certainly not the end of the school gardening year. This has been an extremely busy year for us as the growing conditions have been quite good. Thankfully we were back to school to plant after our distant learning session in January and February.
Due to Covid restrictions, 6th class did the majority of the work in the garden this year but we did endeavour to get all the pupils involved. All classes planted seeds, toured the garden and saw the vegetables in their various growing stages.
We were very proud of our onions and garlic this year. We planted them in October and as tradition has it we harvested them on the longest day of the year- June 21 st . They were left to dry and will be stored until used by some of the classes in September . The radishes were harvested too as they grow very quickly- but didn't seem to be a favourite amongst the children.
We still have a lot of vegetables in the ground and unfortunately they are not ready to harvest as yet. Peas and beans will mature during the summer and Mrs Lynch intends to pick some to store in the freezer, along with some broccoli. Beetroot and chard will also be ready during the summer and hopefully Mrs Lynch can harvest and freeze these also.
The potatoes are almost there but we will leave them in the ground until September. The carrots and parsnips are really only beginning their growth and so will be ready in the Autumn. Indeed, parsnips should not be harvested until after the first frost as the frost sweetens them up.
The children have been taking care of 5 pumpkin plants since mid May and they have grown to an enormous size and were planted out on the last day of school. We can’t wait to see how they grow and develop over the summer. We undertook an experiment to grow some Brussel sprouts this year. We are not sure how they will get on but so far so good. The plants are huge but will need some care and attention. Pests may cause us some trouble and may eat or destroy our vegetables. We also need good weather and rain too so we wait to see what the summer brings.
This is what makes gardening an interesting but rewarding hobby and lifestyle.
