The students of K2B have set up a vegetable garden outside their classroom. Using perfectly good pots salvaged from the streets of Safa 1 (and saving them from landfill in the process) the students have worked together to create a garden that they are proud of and tend to on a daily basis.
The children mixed the soil for their pots over two days. On a large tarpaulin they combined potting mix, cow manure, sweet sand, vermicompost and, with assistance, perlite, to create a fertile growing environment for their vegetables. Once mixed, they shoveled the soil into their pots which were placed outside their classroom.
The children were divided into 4 groups, with each responsible for one pot. From a mystery bag filled with pictures of vegetables that could be planted at this time of year, each group pulled out one vegetable. They then planned what they would plant in their pots around this vegetable. They used a UAE planting calendar and companion planting principles as part of this process.
When planting their seeds, the children used a seeding square to space their seeds and allow enough room for growth. Children wrote labels for their seeds and then waited patiently for them to grow. The children also planted nasturtiums, sunflowers and marigold seeds in their pots in the hope that the flowers would attract pollinators to their garden.
On a daily basis the students in K2B water their pots. They regularly collect worm tea from the worm farm that currently resides in their classroom and use this rich, organic fertilizer to feed their plants.
Spring break will prove interesting for K2B’s class garden. Hopefully the garden will continue to receive the water it needs and the children will return to healthy plants and lots of growth.
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