Fall Harvest Fun

"Harvest time is here again
In the garden we must dig
Carrots, radishes, onions too
All so fresh and yummy too.
Harvest time is here again
Won't be long till you know when!"

The one thing missing from this poetic ode to the fall harvest is potatoes. At the Longfellow Garden Fall Harvest on Monday, October 15, spuds were everywhere: white ones, red ones; skinny ones, fat ones; tiny ones; big ones.

Dozens of children took part in the digging, using gardening forks, shovels and gloves to excavate the soil. It was almost like looking for treasure. While the potato plots were being harvested, the rest of the garden's carrots were also gathered.

After collecting the potatoes and carrots--and a few prize white onions--all of the vegetables were gathered and washed in large tubs, and then laid out to dry.

In all, 150 pounds of potatoes were harvested this year. Speaking of treasure, that's about the weight of five and half gold bars.

Spring 2012 is here ! The Longfellow Learning Garden is in full swing. With a head start from a rash of warm weather and the use of our new greenhouse, kindergarten classes were able to get seedlings going early. The first planting curriculum was the three sisters garden. With the help of Cultivating Community http://www.cultivatingcommunity.org kindergarten classes learned about how traditional three sisters gardens forms an ecosystem by creating a community of plants. This system first used by Native Americans creates a beneficial relationship between the three plants – corn, squash, and beans - each plant helps the others grow. This is a form of companion planting and introduces the idea of ecosystems. They also had a chance to document plant growth from seed to seedling and in the fall ...food. More school garden lessons are planned for this spring including a stone soup garden by the multi-age classes and  potato planting for Maine Harvest Lunch by the 4th grade.