One of the contacts I have made since starting my business is James Bray, a nutritionist with the University of Newcastle, here in NSW. After an exchange of emails, James kindly sent me some fascinating articles about studies that have been carried out in the United States into educating kids through setting up vegetable gardens in Schoolyards. This wonderful tool that not only educates kids where some of their supermarket food comes from, also enhances, through practical application, the maintenance of these gardens, teamwork, psychosocial development and cooperation will their peers.

Over 2,000 gardens in the state of California have schoolyard programs established, and many more nationwide. There are official government programs such as Farm-to-School, and Edible Schoolyard, that run a 12 and 17 week program that not only includes classroom theory but also takes the kids into the schoolyard to establish and grows vegetables for consumption, selling at local markets or school fetes. Alternatively some schools have set up kitchens where the children can learn basic cookery with the produce they have grown.

These programs are primarily run for kids between the ages of 7-11, a prime age to teach the basic of not only healthy eating, but environmental concern and basic science. Schools also invite local farmers in to talk about traditional and modern farming, its challenges and future sustainability methods. Within some of these programs schools have made agreements with farmers that local produce will be used in school meals and in exchange school trips are made where children can observe a working farm.

There are of course hurdles to overcome when establishing such a program, such as who looks after the beds after the program has finished, how to avoid graffiti or damage from uninvolved persons and maintenance throughout a holiday period. Teachers, followed by parent volunteers and then students continued to maintain the beds once the program was finished or over the holiday period throughout many of the schools in California. Another interesting point to note is that one school in California recorded that the children involved in such a program felt more attached to the school and motivated them to work harder and engage themselves in many other topic areas.

Although there has been little study into the consumption of eating fruit and vegetables and obesity, “inadequate consumption of vegetables among adolescents has been correlated with a range of poorer academic and health outcomes”(Ozer, E. 2006). Broader school curriculum can reinforce the practical teaching that is done in the schoolyard. Probably the most important support from an educational stance is to cease selling soft drinks and unhealthy food options in the canteen during school hours.

There is currently a study being conducted here in Australia into the health benefits of having schoolyard gardens. I look forward to the results. Growing produce in school is not just about digging around in the dirt for a few weeks, observing something grow until it has matured ready to harvest. Growing produce needs to be taught hand in hand with nutrition, environmental awareness and science. This combination will help teach our children that the only way to establish a sustainable world, populated by healthy people, is to engage schools and communities into growing their produce locally and teaching the basics of healthy living.

www.edibleschoolgardens.org
www.farmtoschool.org

As wonderful as the Australian summer is, and I love it, the one thing that always amazes me is how the trees and plants here cope and survive and new growth is born as bush fires, increased through hot winds, sweep through vast parts of the landscape, destroying whatever is in its path.

These hot winds are something to watch for in our back yards. Through my experience I have often failed to notice them when they are blowing through, the realization comes later when it is too late. Hot winds can suck the life out of a plant within a day. Tomato plants, which need a fair amount of water, can wilt and never recover. Leaves that provide shade to plants fruit will shrivel up and expose the fruit to heat exhaustion and cause it to rot.

So while the labels on those tomato plants may say “plant in full sun”, what they fail to tell you is how to protect them from her rays.

I live on the Central Coast, a beautiful part of the world. I am very fortunate to live on about 600 square meters and have a garden that backs onto a reserve; however, up until last year the dam was down at 16% and we were on level 4 water restrictions. This means no watering the garden with a hose from the main water supply, that’s OK, I simply connected up the washing machine to a long hose and because we use an eco-friendly washing powder I simply allowed the water from the machine to water my potatoes. I also recycled the bath water. My son and I have a ritual when I get in from work, we pick up the watering cans and a bucket and we scoop out the water from the bath and water the veggies, well I do, he waters his trucks and the chickens.

The reason for this preamble is to tell you about other ways to save the water that you put onto your garden to help protect your produce on those very hot days, and before the storm comes.

Mulch for me is about as exciting as blood and bone. Anything that helps your garden and protects your veggies is a good thing. The reason why mulch is used is because it controls the temperature of your soil and suppresses the germination of weeds and other unwanted seedlings. Mulches come in all sorts of varieties and tastes. There are 2 main types: Organic and Inorganic. Organic mulches break down and release nutrients into the soil, these might include Lucerne hay, leaf litter, straw and pine bark. Inorganic mulches do not break down, but include pebbles, rocks and boulders, which look good to the eye, but also help, keep moist in the soil. The only word of warning I would use in regards to using inorganic mulches is that plants need constant feeding with nutrients, it is a hassle to keep moving all the rocks and pebbles to feed your plants.

Before mulching remove any weeds, grass and dead bits of plant. We do not want anything to take away precious nutrients from our produce. When mulching, do so to at least five to seven centimeters. If you use baled pea straw (one of the best mulches you can use), break it up and spread it across your bed. This mulch does not absorb moisture so all water will stay in the soil.

When mulching vegetable beds there are a couple of rules. Never mulch onions as the bulbs need to swell and ripen in the sun. Avoid using pine bark or wood chip. You will constantly need to dig into the garden and these should not be dug into the soil. The reason for this is that the chips will draw nitrogen away from the soil, disadvantaging your plants. When using any mulch avoid allowing the mulch to touch the base or trunk of your plants and fruit trees. Failure to do so may result in collar rot where the trunk of the plant or tree will become diseased and eventually die without bearing any fruit.

In conclusion, if you haven’t mulched your beds, it is always the right time to do so. Mulch even works well in winter in helping keep the warmth in your soil. However, the golden rule when selecting mulch is what it can do for your plants now, and how it can help protect your soil in the long term.

Wishing you a very happy summer!!

Good nutrient heavy soil is the key to strong healthy plants. Before you go off to the nursery and spend your hard earned money on seedlings, take the time to understand the conditions that these precious little investments will grow in. One of the main criticisms of commercial farmers is that their crops are poor in taste and nutrients. The main reason for this is that the farmers are not only fighting against intense competition to produce crops, but that they do not have the available space or the surplus money to invest in the soil. This also translates into the typical backyard where the content of the “soil” is made up of 90% mineral residue and 10% organic matter. These growing conditions will produce not only weak plants, that are prone to disease, but also very little harvest.

One of the best ways to create the best conditions for plant life, and save your back is to build a ‘no-dig’ or raised bed for your produce. Raised beds are at an advantage because you fill them with the soil you want. If you start off with good soil, your return of harvest will not only be quicker but also your enthusiasm to continue growing will be fed. (There is nothing worse than slogging your guts out for a whole weekend, for no return from your seedlings – I speak from experience!).

So how can we improve the soil?

Compost: Food scraps, leaves, grass cuttings and shredded paper when broken down in the soil improve the structure and composition of the soil. My wife and I have a small bin in the kitchen that we put all our veggie and fruit peelings in, along with egg-shells and tea bags. Each week I take them out to the worm farm and let them do their magic. Worm farms are an amazing investment. I have about 1000 worms in a tub which they break down anything organic (basically, no meat products), creating the most amazing compost (otherwise, known as castings). Once these scraps are broken down, simply dig it into the soil. Other alternatives to creating quick soil improvement is to buy a sack of Dynamic Lifter and blood and bone, sprinkle a few handfuls on your beds, dig and water it in and watch your plants multiply and produce amazing harvests.

Drainage: Water your plants too much and they will drown, water them too little and they will wilt and die. A good way to test the drainage of your soil is to dig a hole and pour some water into it. If the water drains away quickly your soil is mainly sand. If the water is still there a few hours later, your soil is mainly clay. Each of these soils needs some work. Each needs organic matter. Adding organic material will improve the drainage and nutrient level because worms and other insects will aerate the soil and improve conditions for the root systems of your plants.

Green Manure: The more you plant and dig the soil, the more nutrients are lost. Soil needs feeding, just like humans need food to fully function. Chemical fertilizers may provide nutrients in the short term, but no organic matter. Without organic matter added to the soil on a regular basis, your soil will return to the condition in which you first found it. Green manure is an excellent way of either kick-start the process of improving your soil, or revitalizing the soil after a harvest, before sowing your next crop. Green manures are basically cover crops that are grown with the intention of turning them back into soil. They are used to break up compacted soils and release nitrogen through their root system. Popular choices for green manure are ryegrass, barley and clover.

When I started my vegetable patch I got hold of an organic mushroom compost from a local nursery. (This is what I use in the kits that I sell). The results from this soil type are amazing and instant. I have not had anything wilt or die from using this type of soil and my back is still strong and in good order!