Third Graders in the Garden- Late May

The rainy month of April created a plethora of lettuce and spinach which was harvested by Mr. Aguilera's third grade students on May 27th. Some radishes were also pulled. The class enjoyed a salad snack the following day prepared by a children's garden adult. On this day, the warm weather crops were planted into the second planter box. These crops included: nasturtium, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, corn, squash, pumpkins, and eggplant. Again, both seeds and starter plants were used. Many of the starter plants were begun by Ms. Olson's 4th grade students earlier in the spring.

Spring is the Time to Plant

During the early spring, two groups at Lakeridge indicated they were interested in working on garden projects together. On April 27, the Lakeridge Service Club scheduled several projects to improve the school grounds. One of these activities was third grade students working with Children's Garden adults to plant and prepare the garden.

Our main project was planting a box that had previously been weeded, cultivated and prepared by the adults. A collection of cool weather crops were selected due to the current temperatures. The box was planted using the "square foot" method of dividing the box into 1 foot by 1 foot plots and planting each square as if it were its own planter. Some vegetables were planted from starter plants, while others were started from seed. The crops in this box include: Chives, brussel sprouts, spinach, lettuce, peas, radishes, carrots, oregano, tarragon, nasturtium, strawberries, beets and cabbage. Some marigolds were also included in one corner to attract bees and discourage slugs.


The second project the third graders worked on was mixing soil additives into another planter box. This task was popular due to the large number of bugs and worms that were found. This planter was raked smooth and left for planting of warm weather crops later in the season.

The third project students helped with was digging out a new bed for two blueberry plants. This was hard work as the soil proved to be extremely dense.

View of the first garden box at the end of the garden party.

Fourth Graders Plant Seeds - April

Shortly after spring break, Ms. Olson's fourth grade students eagerly planted pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchini and nasturtium seeds into "peat" pots they made from recycled toilet paper rolls. The students carefully watered the seeds until they sprouted. Eventually, they were taken home by Mrs. Lambe to harden off for planting outdoors.

Fall 2008

In October 2008, a group of adults started working on Mercer Island to develop a children's garden. The team leader was Gordon Polson and his vision was to find a place on the island for children to participate in gardening while learning about nutrition and how food grows. The group explored several locations and talked with other groups in the community that were already working with youth on garden projects.

In November, the group located three garden boxes at Lakeridge Elementary that were weedy and in need of care. Two were started years ago by a kindergarten teacher, but were no longer maintained by a class. The third box was built more recently and was used as part of the "Science Friday" program that is popular at the school. The program runs during recess and introduces students to a variety of science topics. Through conversations with PTA president Leslie Moore and principal Ralph Allen, an idea grew that the two organizations could become partners. Discussions continued over the winter.