Gardening Year-round in
the Classroom
www.utahgardennetwork.org
Debra Spielmaker
Utah State University Extension
Agriculture in the Classroom
School Garden Challenges
• Mandatory testing. When
or how can I fit a school
garden into my
curriculum?
• Administration
• Location
• Funding
• Garden knowledge
I just buy my food at the grocery store
• Gardening has gone from a
necessity to a hobby, but gardening
in the future may:
– Serve as an option for more
sustainable communities
– Improve nutrition and health
Why Garden?
• Because seeds are miraculous!
• Healthy eating (kids try what
they grow)
• Strengthen relationships
• Self-sufficiency, food
preservation
• Cooking, leading to better
nutrition
• Garden-based learning
promotes a sustainable future.
What Research Says
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Children participating in activities from Health and Nutrition from
the Garden had improved knowledge concerning the benefits of
eating fruits and vegetables, and they demonstrated an increase
in healthier snack consumption after the study (Waliczek &
Zajicek, 2006).
Third and fifth graders showed more positive attitudes toward fruit
and vegetable snacks and an improvement in vegetable
preference scores after completing activities from a nutrition
gardening curriculum (Lineberger & Zajicek, 2000).
Garden-enhanced nutrition curriculum improves fourth-grade
schoolchildren's knowledge of nutrition and preferences for some
vegetables. The results lend support to the inclusion of vegetable
gardens within the school setting. Administrators of future school
garden projects are encouraged to include a wide variety of fruits
and vegetables in their garden programs (Morris & ZidenbertCherr, 2002).
What Research Says
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Nationally, about 20% of elementary schools students are
overweight. In 2006, 22.5% (58,745) of Utah’s elementary
school age children were overweight (Utah Department of
Health, 2007).
A school garden can be a hands-on teaching tool affecting
students’ attitudes and behavior regarding fruits and
vegetables (Lineberger & Zajicek, 2000).
Interest in using gardens for educational purposes has grown
over the past decade (Guy, Cromell, & Bradley, 1996).
Results show once weekly use of gardening activities and
hands-on classroom activities help improve science
achievement test scores (Smith & Motsenbocker, 2005).
Skelly and Bradley (2000) noted that not only do gardens need
to be installed, but teachers need to learn how to incorporate
them into their lessons.
What is learned or gained
from gardening?
• Life skills
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Planning
Cycles of life and nature
Nutrition
Hard work
Biology, chemistry, ecology
and other sciences
• Communication
School Gardening Content
• Not just science…but the
opportunity for curriculum
integration creating a
cognitive learning opportunity
to improve retention and
student achievement.
Getting Started - Indoors
• Start small
– Window boxes or containers,
because of their small size, can
actually turn out to be rather
luxurious gardens. Recycle clean
bleach and milk containers. Cut off
the tops and use them as planters.
• Mobility
• Drainage of a container is the
most important consideration
Getting Started
Indoors or Outdoors
• Get some child-sized tools from
a local nursery or garden center.
Try to find tools that look
genuine so the kids will feel like
real gardeners.
– Can't afford it? Plastic
spoons and shovels work
well in small boxes.
What Plants Need to Grow
• Media to anchor plants
(soil or soilless media, or water)
• Nutrients
• Water
• Light
• Optimum temperature
• CO2 (only an issue for
production greenhouses)
Plant Growth Media
• Indoor: Seeds or Cuttings
– Paper towels (seeds)
– Cotton (seeds)
– Rockwool (not recommended)
– Floral foam (cuttings)
– Jiffy-7 pots (seeds or cuttings)
– Seed starting (soilless) media
(seeds or cuttings)
– Water (cuttings)
Water
• How much?
– Indoors, less is best
– Provide drainage
– Outdoors…what type of
soil do I have?
• Sand, more water
• Clay, less water
• Loam, ah just right!
Textural Triangle
• Send your soil samples
to soil lab, usually at
land grant colleges and
universities
• Order a soil testing kit
of your own and test
the soil ($60)
Nutrients
• Nitrogen, phosphorus, and
potassium, N-P-K
• Fertilizer nutrient functions
http://www.lesco.com/Controls/fertnutrientfunctions.htm
Primary Nutrients
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Nitrogen (N) Key element in plant growth
– Promotes vigorous leaf and stem growth to improve the overall quality of
the turf
– Essential component of the chlorophyll molecule which gives turf its dark
green color
– Involved in regulating the uptake of other key elements
Phosphorous (P) Used in the formation and transfer of energy within the
plant
– Influences early root development and growth
– Encourages plant establishment
Potassium (K) Used by the plant in large quantities, second only to nitrogen
– Key component in the formation of carbohydrates, or food for the plant
– Encourages rooting and wear tolerance
– Enhances drought and cold tolerance
– Key component in cell wall strength and resistance to disease
Nutrient Availability and pH
Light
• Keep the light close, within
one inch of the top growth.
• Best light spectrum: one cool
and one white light
Optimum Temperature
• Varies, air and soil
– cool season: peas, greens
of all kinds
– warm season: corn, squash,
beans
– tropical…who are you guys?
Florida & California?
Getting Started - Outdoors
• Be willing to put up with a
less-than-perfect looking
garden
– crooked rows and
some weeds are okay
Getting Started - Outdoors
• Leave an area where kids
can dig, even after
planting. This is often their
favorite part of gardening.
– Look for earthworms
together!
Getting Started - Outdoors
• Make a secret place in the
garden for kids.
• Leave a space between the
stalks of easy-to-grow
sunflowers or bean poles so
they can crawl inside.
Getting Started - Outdoors
• Kids like extremes, so
plant huge flowers, like
sunflowers, and small
vegetable plants, like
cherry tomatoes. Plant
fragrant flowers or herbs.
Getting Started - Outdoors
• Teach kids about the
importance of soil and how
to compost.
• Always use untreated
seeds.
• A word about pesticides
and fertilizers…
Getting Started - Outdoors
• Easy with web resources
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www.kidsgardening.org
www.jmgkids.us
www.utahgardennetwork.org
www.csgn.org
Local Resources
• Check with your county
Extension Office, garden
centers, public/private gardens
to see what is offered locally.
Literature in the Garden
• Books:
– Kids Gardening: http://www.kidsgardeningstore.com/books.html
– Junior Master Gardener Lessons with books:
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Plantzilla
Miss Rumphius
Brother Eagle Sister Sky
The Gardener
Tops & Bottoms
Weslandia
– National Resource Directory: www.agclassroom.org/directory
– Utah Agriculture in the Classroom:
http://extension.usu.edu/aitc/teachers/elementary/literature.html
Calendar of Activities
• Seed or flower dissection:
– Conifers, Dicots & Monocots
• Making compost, vermiculture
• Sprouting seeds
– Living Necklaces, Gloves, Jewel Cases
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Sprouting sprouts in a jar
Jiffy-7 pots
Growing potatoes indoors
Cuttings
– water, floral foam, vermiculite
• Division
• Transplanting
Calendar of Activities
• Lots of Nutrition…
– Fruit & Vegetable Bulletin Board and more…
Garden take-home...
• When we understand the
resources and cycles involved in
food production, we begin to see
how agriculture affects our quality
of life and our environment.