UP kids back in the garden!

2nd graders from Ms. Peoples' class make garden maps.

We've had an exciting couple of weeks of educational activities in the garden! University Place students have been planting, watering, learning about seeds, and making their very own garden maps! Thanks to the planting skills of pre-K through 5th graders, our seven new raised beds are filled with a variety of fall vegetables - lettuce, spinach, rainbow chard, bok choy, collard greens, cilantro, cabbage, carrots, radishes, mustard greens, and broccoli.  After only 3 short weeks, the plants have grown tremendously, and a few things are even ready to harvest! Looks like we'll be having our first farm stand soon!

Rashmi helps 3rd graders plant collard greens. The little white roots are especially intriguing!

A new addition to our garden space this year is "Mother Oak Tree". We meet here before every garden lesson! Here, Josalyn and Rashmi show 3rd graders the garden tools.

Pre-K students shell, count, and sort black beans, purple hull peas, and pinto beans from the UP summer garden. They learn how to group the beans by color, shape, and size.

Pre-K students, Jayla and Jazmine, pose in front of their sorted beans.

Seed sorters in action!

2nd grade student investigates the cilantro while making her garden map. Students learned about map symbols, direction, and measurement during this activity.

Excited Kindergarten students hunt for their names amidst the rapidly growing vegetables. The large lettuce heads were hiding their popsicle sticks! 

Pre-K students check out the plants and the new drip irrigation system (thanks Nucor!).