Edible Peace Patch Blogs

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Spring Break

This week the kids are on spring break, so it is a great time to get maintenance done on the garden. Instead of the normal group of three volunteers in the garden, we had seven people at the garden working today. We had two volunteers, Ned and Christine Bellamy, who were part of the original group of volunteers that dug the park.

We spent our time edging the beds as this time intensive task normally isn't able to get accomplished during the course of a regular garden shift. With so many volunteers though, it was easy to edge all of the beds in the Campbell Park garden. With a couple more shifts this size, it will be easy to get the garden into great shape for the kids when the get back from spring break. 

Andrea also worked on transplanting starters into our herb bed. The original seeds didn't sprout that we planted in the bed. After the transplants were finished, and all the beds were edged and watered the two hour shift was done. Hopefully soon we will be able to begin building the fences around the beds.
 Derek

Thursday, March 14, 2013

A Wonderful Day for Peace Patching!

A Wonderful Day for Peace Patching!


No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, 
and no culture comparable to that of a garden.
- Thomas Jefferson

Ms. Gibbon's First Graders in front of Three Sisters Garden.

The midday sun was beaming brightly as Andréa and I made our way to Campbell Park Elementary for a couple hours in the garden. As is usually the case on our Wednesday shifts at Campbell, we weren't sure what - or who - the afternoon would bring us. Yet the not knowing is fine by me, as my time in the garden is always a much needed sojourn from the business of everyday life.

Campbell's garden is the baby of the Peace Patches - just over two months old - and it never ceases to surprise me what new growth has taken place over the course of a week. Yesterday we were met by sprouts of beautiful okra we'd planted a few Wednesdays prior.

Hello Okra!
Andréa watering the cucumbers.

I looked over at the construction crew working on what will soon become a bank building beyond the fence, and am reminded of how what we are growing together in the garden is worth far, far more. 









Not long after we finished giving the beds plenty of water, Ms. Gibbon's First Grade class lined up on the sidewalk, ready for their first tour through Campbell's new garden. It's a pretty amazing experience to walk these children around their very own Peace Patch. 



We split off in groups of two, Andréa leading half the class and I the other. Much of the beauty of
working with these children is never knowing quite what to expect. One guarantee, however, is the excitement you can see in all of their faces. 

The beauties of growing food can capture the interest of most anyone, and it's wonderful to share this excitement with a group of kids. I really can't imagine a better way to spend a Wednesday afternoon!

Until next time,
Alix

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Visitors!


Today at Campbell was a beautiful sunny day with a class that was more than exceptional. We arrived at 1, and went to check in with the office, but never actually got to because the class was already lining up to come out to the garden. 



So we showed them around and decided that because it was the second week for this class being out at the garden, we would teach them about the different parts of the plants. At the beginning, we sat them around in a circle and explained the functions and locations of the leaves, stem, roots, and flower. Some of the kids were very knowledgeable about the different structures of the plant and were very excited about telling us what they knew. We eventually went on to playing a game of Simon Says, telling the kids to act like their bodies were representing individual plants, with their feet being roots, hands are leaves, etc. 

We spent about 5 minutes playing games with the kids, and when they were thoroughly entertained with that, we moved on to smaller groups, showing them around the garden. We explained what was planted in the certain beds, and how they grow better in certain types of soil, compared to the sandy ground that is regularly found in Florida. 


We only had one class, which was really up in the air anyways, because we weren't sure what the plan for the day was. After the class left, we watered the entire garden and planted some more seeds. 

It was a beautiful day with some great kids who were genuinely interested in learning more stuff about the garden. I was really pleased with working with them today.

Andy

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

In sight, in mind


            Liz and I arrived at Campbell park for our 11:00-1:00 shift for the first time today. Since this garden hasn’t established a schedule with the teachers yet, we had been previously moved around to other gardens with classes on Mondays, so I was really excited to see what this one would be like. I was so surprised to see it directly adjacent to the parking lot as we drove up to the front entrance. All of the other gardens require you to go through multiple doors, hallways, and gates to finally get to them, but this was right there as you walked up. My first reaction was, “This is odd, it looks like it is right in the parking lot”, but as we worked I began to love the set up. Whether this was done intentionally or out of logistics, I think that it is a great idea to have the garden be the first thing people see when the come to school. It provides exposure to the kids that may not get to interact in it and to the parents who may not be aware of it. I think that the unhidden presence of this garden will spark a sense of awe, curiosity, and interest in all who pass by it.


            Last week the first plants were set in the soil, and so far most of them seem to be feeling right at home. We oriented ourselves to the layout of the garden as we watered it and began to learn all the different vegetables and flowers artistically scattered within it. One of the coolest parts about this garden is the design. We couldn’t quite figure it out at first, but then Robin informed us that it represents the stitching on a baseball since the Peace Patch received so much help and funding from the Rays Baseball Foundation. It will be interesting to see if the kids will be able to pick out this design as they learn and work in the garden. I am very excited and proud to call this my classroom every Monday for the next couple months! 

Colby

(more pictures coming soon!)