Saturday, May 16, 2009

out of the kitchen and into the...

In this, the busiest time of the year at the school, we will likely not be going into the kitchen. But there are things to look forward to... My cooking club in the summer.

The good news is we sold most of our tomato plants, and a good number of our extra pepper plants. Inside the classroom the students helped me prepare for the herb workshop I taught today. We also dealt with plants we did not grow ourselves.


The career education department is throwing their big banquet this coming Wednesday and I am always asked to provide plant life for the tables. Lately I have gotten in the habit of buying a flat of annuals. It turns into a good lesson. Many annuals are planted together these days not in 6-packs like we use. So I pull out my garden tool that looks like I am carrying around a hefty knife...


and we use the serrated edge to divide them up before we place them in pots.

The dry spell at the beginning of the week allowed us to get out and do some garden clean up of our large flower bed, and we got our potatoes planted. Enough fingerlings to do two twenty foot beds. Photos were taken, but camera is at the school. It was a good job for having team work... digging fork loosen, shovel dig, add compost, digging fork mix, hand trowel plant potato... repeat.

Sadly we had to move some plants I didn't plan on moving, so now my catnip is in a pot, some sage in the flower bed, and several bulbs transported to new homes, but when water is leaking into one's classroom... what can one do?

so yes, no kitchen time. we are busy.

8 comments:

Dana said...

cooking club was always so much fun for Sam, I know you will enjoy teaching it...some of those kids do the cooking for themselves and their families already (my son and his friend, another student) so you will find all levels of ability but plenty of interest...trust me, at least in our case, it was a way to get them to be less picky about their meals...enjoy!!

Rob (ourfrenchgarden) said...

Hi Wayne

That tool/knife you use to tease seedlings out, looks pretty serious to me. It's a bit like Samuri division.

Wayne Stratz said...

Dana-- I have made a bread lover of many of my students. It is something I am proud of seeing happen in my classroom.

Rob--- no teasing with this tool, we used the saw toothed side to cut through the mass of soil mix which nine annuals have been planted and thus have tangled their roots within.

Anonymous said...

That looks like a pretty useful tool to me Wayne. Not for me, too accident prone as it is. ;)

Chandramouli S said...

It looks fancy! The cooking club sounds great fun and I'm you'd have fun. Wish we had one here too.

Wayne Stratz said...

perenialgardener--- there is so much to hurt one self with in the garden. few students have injured themselves and none severely in ten years. and, yess I am knocking on wood ;')

chandramouli--- thanks for the visit. I need to get more veggies planted so we have lots for the cooking club.

Pomona Belvedere said...

You do sound busy! Seems as if you always have a lot going. I enjoy reading about it.

Wayne Stratz said...

Pomona--- I am wondering if it is too much. what gets done will be what gets done. That is the only thing that is for certain as I gear up to get more done in the veggie garden.