A Hands-on Approach to Environmental Quality
Richard R. MacMahon, Ph.D.
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Give FeedbackBASIC ORGANIC GARDENING
What is involved? The following steps are the basic procedure that one follows when starting a community garden. Again, refer to appendix Three for a complete bibliography of materials that will help get you started.
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1. Selecting the site for the garden.
The site must be within traveling distance from the school. Either the students must walk to the site or be able to get there by bus or other means of transportation. Many cities and towns now have organizations of community gardens. They are usually more than willing to help a school find and set up a garden site.
The site must be secure and have water available.
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2. Cleaning the site.
If the students can organize themselves into a clean-up crew, the site can usually be cleaned up with no trouble. Students must be extremely careful when cleaning up. Each student must wear sturdy, thick-soled shoes and heavy gloves. The site may have broken glass, nails, scrap metal and discarded hypodermic needles. I cannot stress enough the need for proper protective clothing and common sense. There need to be some parent volunteers who can haul trash away in a truck. When the students are cleaning up the site, they must be aware of any potential hazardous waste that may have contaminated the soil (such as containers of paint, lead paint or chips, oil or anti-freeze). Any bare spots must be noted.
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3. Testing the soil.
A sample of soil from various parts of the site should be tested for standard nutrients by the local extension service lab. Any bare spots should have a soil sample collected and tested separately. If the soil is bare, there are no plants growing. If there are no plants growing, why? Is the soil poisoned? You need to know before you plant there. (This does not include spots that are bare because there was something covering the spot, such as a piece of wood or plywood). It may be necessary to dig out a section of soil if it is visibly contaminated.
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4. Preparing the soil for planting.
Most often you will need to rototill a new site in order to prepare it for planting. Rototilling is a very effective method of loosening the soil and killing weeds so that the seeds may be planted. It is also an effective method of adding compost and fertilizers into the soil. However, rototilling also may kill some of the earthworms present in the soil. Earthworms are terrific natural aerators and mixing agents.
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5. Planning and Planting
the garden (see below). Since not all seeds and plants are placed in the garden at the same time, it is a good idea to plan out the garden and have a calendar of planting dates. Students also need to know how deep and how far apart to plant each variety of vegetables.
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6. Weeding and Maintenance
(pest control and water). Each student needs to learn to weed their garden and water if necessary. If there are many insects, the use of rotenone and pyrethrin is allowable. Unfortunately, by the time that the plants are up and doing well many schools are letting out for the summer. I have been fortunate in that there have been students who were eager to continue their gardens over the summer. The summer work must be on a volunteer basis.
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7. Harvesting.
Students may of course harvest their gardens any time during the summer. Most of the harvesting will be the next fall. This can be done in a separate class or with the same students, depending upon circumstance.
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8. Preparing for next year.
This involves work on the garden in the fall for the coming spring. It might include sowing winter rye, planting spinach and cleaning the garden of old vegetation that may harbor pests.
It would be impossible for me to write all that is needed in order for one to produce a successful garden. That is a separate book. (But see the section entitled BASIC GARDEN PLANNING below) There are many good basic gardening books that will guide both student and teacher through the joys and trials of organic gardening. Rodale’s
All New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening
(Bradley and Ellis, 1992) is excellent. I have included a number of very good books on organic gardening in a separate bibliography (see Appendix Three). However, some specific suggestions here on seed selection and planting are in order.