Parkgate Primary School School - Allotment - Garden March 2021
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Parkgate Primary School………
School – Allotment – Garden
March 2021……………………………………
Spring is nearly here………………………………………………………………………………
March 2nd 2021…………………………………………………………………………………………
Now that we are into March, this is the time of the year when it almost seems that
everywhere outdoors starts to wake up from the cold, dark winter days to produce
bursts of early spring colour, bird song is a joy to hear plus there are plenty of signs
of new growth, all of these signs also get growers and gardeners excited because
they can then get started in setting out the garden jobs to do……………………………………………………
Follow lots of progress in the Parkgate school allotment – garden………………………………………….
School allotment – garden has Five Star Status…………………
Following a lengthy adjudication process, extended unfortunately due to the
Pandemic, the Parkgate School Allotment – Garden has been informed that is has
achieved the Royal Horticultural Society Campaign for School Gardening Level 5………
After working through all five levels of the Campaign for School Gardening over a
two - year period, we are now the proud holders of this prestigious award………………………
As well as the awarded status, the school has also received a Level Five Certificate,
Two Garden Display Panels, An exclusive Five Star Garden Logo and £200.00
worth of Garden Gift Vouchers, so this is a highly respected and highly sought after
Schools gardening award………………
Spring is nearly here……………………………
Poly tunnel seed sowing is underway…………………………………………. Here you can see the mizuna – spicy salad leaves that we have sown in the school poly tunnel – probably still a bit too cold to sow much outside, but the poly tunnel is a perfect protected environment where seeds will germinate quicker……………………………….
Daffodils are going to give a real splash of colour……………
Thursday March 4th 2021………………………………………………………………….
There are lots of daffodils planted all around the school site that are starting to
show some colour which once they all come out in flower there is going to be a
real splash of colour all over the school site – follow the progress over the next few
weeks as we look to create lots of colour…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Dafodil
Daffodils
s
Crocuses are providing more colour………………………………………………
Tuesday March 9th 2021………………………………………………………………………
Cold early morning’s………. Crocuses close up…………………………
This temperature reading was taken Here you can see some of the stunning
inside the poly tunnel at 7.30am colours and the detail in the flower…………………
Stunning colours…………………
More stunning flower bulbs…………………………………………………………………
Thursday March 11th 2021…………………………………………………………………
When you take a walk around the garden area you will come across lots of pockets
of spring flowering bulbs – you cannot but marvel at the stunning colours and the
detail in the flowers. Here is another selection of some of the flowering bulbs………………
Double snowdrops…………………………………………………………………………………
Again, you can only marvel
at the detail and the
stunning colours that these
flower bulbs produce……………
When you look closely,
then you begin to realise
how much detail there is in
the flowers……………………………………
Herbs are coming alive gain………………………………………………………………
One of the real joys of our allotment – garden space are the wonderful aromas
that many of our herbs provide – the children really enjoy the smells that the herbs
provide – as you walk around the area you can see lots of vibrant green growth
the herbs are producing that is pushing through the soil…………………………………………………………….
Below you can see our lemon balm and our lime balm – a super combination……………
Giant Red Mustard……………………………………………………………………………….
This is a plant that produces some absolutely stunning colours as you can see
from the photograph below………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Cauliflower plants……………………
Here you can see some of the cauliflower
plants that we have growing in the school
poly tunnel…………………………………………………………………….
Another herb favourite…………………………………………………………………………… Friday March 12th 2021………………………………………………………………………. One of the most popular herbs in the allotment – garden area is our Moroccan Mint. Not only does this particular mint possess a great smell, it also makes great tea too… Below you can see the new growth being made……………………………………………………………………………………. Moroccan mint……………………………. Subway continue to support our schools growing work Schools growing work
Hellebores growing away…………………………………………………………………… Another plant that we have growing are our hellebores – these are hardy plants that will come back year after year providing some more spring colour……………………………
More crocuses…………………………………………………………………………………………….
Flowering bulbs are looking spectacular…………………………………… Tuesday March 16th 2021………………………………………………………………… Here you can see the area of daffodil bulbs that were planted by the Year 6 children which really are starting to produce a really stunning display……………………………… Daffodils providing a sea of yellow……
More bulbs adding to the colourful display…………………………… Here you can see our anemone blanda that are starting to show their colourful blue flowers – we are trying to get these bulbs to naturalise in the grass. We have planted lots of these bulbs all around the tree area so after they have finished flowering we want them to self-seed so that in time we will have a carpet of blue……
Single Anenome Blanda……………Orange centred daffodils…
More fantastic colour………
More Anenome Blanda……………
Nepeta is growing well…………….
Tulips emerging now……More poly tunnel seed sowing…………………………………………………………
Thursday March 18th 2021……………………………………………………………….
Although we are only two days away from the start of spring, the temperatures
are nowhere near warm enough to sow much outside – daytime it may get warm
enough but come night time there are so many fluctuations in temperature plus still
plenty of frost, this is where the school poly tunnel really proves useful as we can
sow both directly into the soil or we can sow into seed modules which are then
protected inside the poly tunnel. Below you can see more seeds that have been
sown inside the poly tunnel and they have germinated quickly………………………………………………
Here you can see Mizuna, Wild Rocket and Land Cress………………………………………………………………
Mizuna……………………………….
Land Cress……………………….
Wild Rocket…………………….Peas are growing well…………………………………………………………………………. Below you can see lots of peas growing inside the poly tunnel – these were sown in seed modules ready to be planted out at a later date but they have continued to make lots of growth inside the modules so we will probably leave them to grow……… With the protection of the poly - tunnel they will hopefully produce a crop of peas which we can harvest very soon. Nothing beats the taste of freshly picked peas……….
Year Six making compost…………………………………………………………………… Tuesday March 23rd 2021………………………………………………………………… This week we have been working with Year 6 to start a compost heap which we hope given a few weeks will start to break down and again in time will produce some compost that we can put to good use or we can also look at planting direct into the heap with some pumpkins that will relish growing within the material that we have put into the heap. To make compost, you need a mix of green material and brown material so that you get a balance – too much green material such as grass cuttings and plant material will create just a soggy and smelly mush, so if you add brown material such as non – waxy cardboard, twigs and wood chippings, this will create a balanced mixture. Also, we have added coffee grounds, vegetable and fruit peelings, egg shells and some REMIN ROCKDUST which will also help to not only activate the compost mix but also will encourage plenty of earthworms that will be vital to the mixture breaking down……………………………………………………………………………………
More material being added to the compost heap………………
A mix of green and brown material
Material being broken up
Below you can see that we have covered
the compost heap so that it will hopefully
retain some heat within the pile which
will also help the composting process…………
Here you can see the fruit and vegetable
peel boxes that we have made so that
the children can put their fruit and
vegetable peelings into these boxes so
that we can add this vegetative matter
to our compost heaps…………………………………………
Composting….Another super herb is producing new growth………………………
Thursday March 25th 2021………………………………………………………………
Another one of our herbs which we have growing in the poly tunnel is starting to
produce some new growth, this herb is Lemon Verbena which has a gorgeous
aroma and makes some super tasting herbal tea……………………………………………………………………………….
Stunning flower detail……………………………………………………………………………
Look at the stunning detail in these
pansies that are growing in the garden…Crocuses feeding the bees…………………………………………………………………. Here you can see that the relatively warm afternoon sunshine has brought the bees out as they search for some much - needed food after the long winter……………………………… Our crocuses are providing some pollen for the bees………………………………………………………………………
Lemon coloured daffodils…………………………………………………………………… Here you can see some more daffodils that have a beautiful lemon tinge to them, in the sunshine they really are providing some more stunning colour………………………………….
Unpredictable weather…………………………………………………………………………. Tuesday and Wednesday March 30th and 31st…………………… One thing that always provides a point of conversation is the weather particularly in this country with the last two days of March providing us with some balmy daytime temperatures – early morning the weather is cold but take a look at the poly tunnel thermometer in the early afternoon on the Tuesday……………………………………………
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