Gardening Club #11
There’s something about being caught out in a heavy rain shower that children just seem to relish. Whether it’s the sheer excitement of getting thoroughly drenched or the simple joy of jumping in muddy puddles, there’s a lot to be said for letting the little ones embrace nature.
The deluge certainly didn’t dampen spirits at today’s gardening club, in fact it had quite the opposite effect. Moral was high as the children worked together enthusiastically emptying chicken and vegetable waste into the compost.
The second tractor tyre also needed planting up and the children were so busy they didn’t notice the rain clouds looming.
They cut out the membrane, which they laid on the ground inside the tyres. The membrane will help to suppress weeds.
The children piled rocks on top of the membrane to help with drainage. Again, they got a lot of joy out of lugging the stones around.
The great thing about gardening is that most jobs require a great deal of team work. Every activity the children undertook this afternoon required helping one another, be it moving stones…
…or carrying bags of compost.
They worked together and made super progress.
Even when the rain started to come down, they persevered with great determination.
This photo really sums up the spirit of Oakridge children.
Once the planter was ready they started creating their lettuce ‘pizza wheel’, which they did by dividing the circles up into eighths.
Next, they carefully transplanted lettuce seedlings, which they had grown a few months ago.
Alternating the colours, they planted them between the stones. No watering was needed thanks to the downpour of rain!
It was lovely to see so much planting going on. Once the tractor tyre planter was finished the children sowed pumpkins. Fantastic for them to see the tiny seeds in relation to themselves.
There’s always time for a bit of pond investigation, the children love seeing how much the tadpoles have grown, and often try to catch the odd one or two!
Two sweet corn plants were also put into the ground. They had been donated by a parent.
Sunflowers also went in...
…as did lots of lovely sweet peas.
Finally, as the weather dried up, two of the children from KS2 tried out the theory of seed dispersal that they had been learning about in school this week.