November seems to have passed in a flash and in the school garden, not much has changed really. With the advent of colder, wetter weather gardening club has more or less been placed on hold, although some of the older children have helped with a few of the winter jobs.
There is nothing really left to harvest, although the spinach and some of the kale are holding on for dear life and even the weeds are sitting huddled where they are, having decided, evidently, to keep their roots curled up tight in a warm bundle rather than spread them into the colder, less welcoming surroundings.
The beans which we plan to use for seed saving have been gathered in by the year 5s and 6s and are drying out in the polytunnel and the onion sets are still waiting to be planted which will probably be later this week (it is the 25th November as I type). As for the poly tunnel, the tomato and chilli plants have now been added to the compost bins and only the strawberry runners are left to enjoy its’ protective shelter and relative warmth. The children have also started to clear the beds and tubs but there is still plenty more work that needs to be done, including:
- Finishing off the bed clearing;
- Tidying up the poly tunnel;
- Clearing the Courtyard Garden out and revitalising the planters and raised bed in that area;
- Enriching the raised beds and half barrels;
- Planting the onion sets out; and
- Labelling the jars of plum chutney ready for sale at the school fair.
So all in all not much to report but please do go and check out the other blog postings in this months’ Garden Share Collective. Some of these are from Australia and New Zealand and so they are actually enjoying the spring and their gardens are very productive at the moment. There are also other UK gardens which may well have got a lot more done this last month than we have but do check back this time next month when, hopefully, there will be a little bit more to report and maybe even some pictures of our nice tidy but slumbering garden.
December 1, 2013 at 8:30 pm
You’re slowing down in the garden and I’m speeding up! 🙂
December 2, 2013 at 1:43 pm
If I went any slower I’d be holding up the slugs and snails 😀
December 1, 2013 at 9:01 pm
‘Tis the season and all…I’ve cleared away loads from the garden today…looks a little sad now. However it’s a great time to get the ground work done (no frosts permitting).
I think it’s actually quite therapeutic clearing the old away and making ready for the new. 🙂
December 2, 2013 at 1:40 pm
Lol, I always feel great once I’ve done a stint of clearing out the beds ….. it’s the getting up the energy to venture into the cold, damp garden that is my undoing sometimes 🙂
December 1, 2013 at 11:14 pm
I too have slowed down in the garden, I am going to go full swing again next month. The heat of our days have been incredible, nice to hear that some of the plants have held on.
December 2, 2013 at 1:42 pm
Well we got the grant cheque for the Foundation/Year 1 play area vegetable planters this weekend, so pretty soon I’ll have planters to paint with wood stain (non-toxic obviously) and assemble and then fill with compost/topsoil etc 🙂
December 3, 2013 at 5:33 am
While you are getting all snug for winter, we too are slowing down as it is extreme heat heading our way!!! I love that you are doing this with your school.
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