Today all of the 3/4 students participated in a garden session as part of the Kitchen Garden Program. We worked together to weed two of our garden beds, saving two types of edible weeds that we cooked with in Week 6 and 7 – Purslane and Mallow – so that families can take some home from the Welcome Expo tonight to cook with and taste at home! It was a big day but all the students did a fantastic job, and huge thanks to Penny, our parent volunteer, who helped students in the garden learn more about weeding.
Drop into Neighourhood Two tonight to take a sample of some of the edible weeds from our garden and a copy of the recipe we used – there will be paper bags to fill but if you want to be extra waste free, feel free to bring your own container!
Students also were faced with the challenging task of making an origami box out of newspaper that we will fill with soil next week to start planting seeds. Following the instructions were a bit tricky but as a group we persevered! Have a go at making a newspaper box tonight at the Welcome Expo for us to use for as a container for planting.
We will be planting seeds over the next few weeks and would love you to be a part of our kitchen garden community. You can help by donating seeds and seedlings to plant in our garden (or any other useful garden-y things!) – these might be from a shop or extras from home, or even cuttings from herbs or other plants that students could propagate. There will be a list in Neighbourhood Two tonight that will give you an idea of the kinds of vegetables and herbs that can be planted in March and April in our climate.
We love learning more about plants from our peers. Last week Sammy brought in samples of herbs from his family’s garden to share during their kitchen lesson, and this week Banjo brought in some figs from his fig tree at home. AJ also brought in some Lemon Verbena leaves which were fantastic to smell after investigating different spices and scents. If you happen to have an over supply of something from your own garden, we could definitely find a use for it as part of our kitchen classes and it’s also a fantastic opportunity for students to learn more about different fruits, vegetables, and herbs they might not know much about, particularly for students who are newly or recently arrived in Australia. Thank you AJ, Banjo and Sammy!