Every week at least one and up to four classes come out to the Edible Garden, in the two days our dedicated gardening teacher has been on site. In that time each class will have a morning or afternoon session, split into small groups so they have lots of attention for the many curious questions and diversions to the natural world that always arise!

We plan sessions according to the children's abilities and their curriculum requirements, but also respond to the seasons and opportunities this presents - experiencing the effects of a torrential hailstorm in our polytunnel and watching the mercury plummet whilst potting up tomato plants recently being one such event!

Our weekly exploits are detailed on the back pages of the school newsletters which can be found by clicking here, and please do enjoy a flavour of what we get up to through our gallery below!

As you can see from one of our early newsletter posts in March 2023 below - our ambitions at the outset were modest!

During 2021-22, all the classes in school took part in planting up the original garden, with different crops for each class to care for:

Reception - Tulips (yes they are edible!)

Year 1 – Three different varieties of onions

Year 2 – Broad beans and peas

Year 3 – Gooseberry bushes

Year 4 – Raspberry canes / blueberry bushes

Year 5 – Three different varieties of garlic

Year 6 – Pomegranate tree, apple tree and peach tree.

It’s been very cold this week (March 2023) in LCPS’s Edible Garden and so we have been holding off on planting and sticking to only planting things that can deal with the cold. Year 6 filled gaps with bulbs round the edge of the drive last week and the broad beans that nursery and Year 1 started in cardboard tubes have been put in trays in the unheated greenhouse for a little more protection - we’re going to see if the ones in the classroom or the ones in the greenhouse sprout first! 

We covered up sensitive plants in the garden with horticultural fleece to ensure they make it through the cold snap without freezing - the peach tree was wrapped up inside a little tent made from canes and fleece to protect the emerging buds, and a layer of fleece was laid over the dahlia pots in the greenhouse that Year 3 planted last week to give them some protection from overnight lows. 

We want to get the children monitoring the garden and greenhouse thermometers and recording temperature fluctuations through the year as this will help us to plan for planting in the changing seasons and understand how the climate is changing and how the microclimate here at school relates to the local Chiltern weather.

Year 5 have been learning in Science about how plants store food and reproduce, so we have been “chitting” some potatoes this week for the Edible Garden by standing them in egg boxes so they are kept dry but get the light they need to start the “eyes” growing into new shoots so we can plant them out shortly.

We’ve also signed up to the RHS Big Seed Sow - more on that soon! 

We’re really keen to keep reusing and recycling so please continue to bring in any materials which we could use in the next weeks - unwanted plantpots (any size), transparent plastic trays from grapes/tomatoes/strawberry/raspberry/mushroom packaging (washed first please), cardboard tubes (kitchen/loo roll inners), egg boxes…and if you have any unwanted timber battens from DIY or building projects we could really use those too!