Organic Gardens and Mara Māori Create Opportunities For Children's Learning

Paeroa Christian School

July was a great month of gardening for children and staff of Paeroa Christian School. Despite cold, wet weather, we still achieved our goals.

We have both a dig and "no-dig" garden. Children have learnt to dig two spade depths deep, using double dig method. They have planted seeds in trays and watched them grow. As we have no hothouse, seeds were raised in the staff room - plenty of warmth from the indoor heaters.

The children also built a wormery using old tyres and corrugated iron – for safety reasons carpet will replace the corrugated iron. Worms make good fertiliser, just flush out with a small amount of water regularly and keep feeding them lunch scraps and cow manure. Good learning for children – watching the worms work, eat, sleep and reproduce.

A paddock of cows next door provides plentiful amounts of organic manure for garden mulch. Just grab a wheelbarrow and shovel, then start scooping. Allow a few days for breakdown with natural organisms before applying as it is rich in nitrogen and can burn young plants at the root zone.

A small steel frame at the rear of the school has been utilised as a cool frame. A local shop donated discarded wrapping plastic from large double beds, which will give protection from elements.

We have now planted out silverbeet, chives, parsley, broad beans, lupins, sweet basil, and coriander. Problems arose over the holiday, as germinating lettuces like warmth, air and moisture. All windows were shut and damping off occurred. Guess where they ended up?

The Organic Garden project is going really well. There are no major expense items in setting one up – just seeds and seed-raising mix, maybe some old tools from farmers or parents, and a small garden area at school. If you have a community garden in your town, you could share an area with others.

Since we began, word has gone out into the community and another school in the area wants to do the same. They have asked for help in establishing garden beds, a wormery, and compost heaps.

Warwick Marshall

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