Today marked the final day of the enrichment program with Stoneyholme School.
Seven families and 12 children had enrolled on the Gardening Club enrichment. The gardening Club was a session for children and parents to learn how to sew vegetable seeds, plant herbs, water, and care for their plants. In this session we gathered soil in a wheel barrow, and repotted 14 tomato and 7 coriander plants. First we added soil to the larger pots, then we removed the pot of a plant and added it to the new pot with fresh soil. The children topped up the soil in the new pot. Finally we added water to make sure that the plants would be happy and nourished in their new home with fresh soil. The children were allowed to take these plants away with them to raise over the summer and benefit from the vegetables the produce. Finally, they were taught how often to water them and when to repot them, and when the tomato’s were ready to harvest.

Stoneyholme school asked that I deliver parent and child gardening club sessions. The aim of the sessions was to encourage children’s interest in gardening and raising vegetables. Through having parents attend the sessions with their children, this allowed a bonding between children and parents through these sessions with a shared learning experience. This week we were planting bell peppers seeds. We planted them in small pots for the children and parents to take away with them at the end of the session.  

Friends of Ightenhill Park. 

I joined Kath and Irelene in the vegatable garden for the first time. We prepared soil for vegetables, pruning dead leaves, and rotating vegetables around the polytunnel. I then went to help Ian and David move soil that was left over from filling the planters. We moved soil from the ton bags to a designated soil bay within the compound. We also helped Kath and Irelene by taking soil to the potato plot to help mound up the potato’s around the stems.  As potato’s grow, they need soil to be mound up around the plant, to encourage more spud growth!

The students of Stoneyholme Primary school were excited to get their hands dirty! Pots were handed out to each student and they took it upon themselves to fill their pots with soil and fresh compost. They then created holes to plant carrot seeds in. Each child was handed a handful of seeds which were inserted into each little hole in their soil. They then covered each hole up and watered the soil. The students were interested in the technique involved and every student got their hands dirty through grabbing handfuls of soil! We even had time to fill cups with soil and compost and add sprigs of rosemary to each one. Each child took home a pot of carrots and rosemary. Over the coming months the plants will grow large through the care of the children with their newly acquired skills.