Raised beds ready and going

We are having a really busy week in our garden because at last we found free soil to fill up our raised beds.
Understanding that our budget is £0, we depends on donations and every opportunity that we find around the Bristol area. This time, we found free soil through Gumtree so we could plant out all our seedlings that have been growing in the green house for months.
With the adults help the children fill up the beds using rakes and spades and a shopping trolly as a working tools. Carrying, raking and stomping the soil in the planters.

Planting Peas. Using tools, being careful with the plants, following instructions and taking turns.

 Planting butternut squash

And tomatoes

 

Here we are, working together to get the other planters ready where we could grow potatoes, beetroots and leeks.

 They are great gardeners.

Donations!! We want to thank you.

We have had some donations from people from the community that we want to thanks. Tools, plants, pots and seeds that we really need and we appreciate. Hopefully this contact with the community will continue growing stronger each day.

Also the Aldi at Church Road, contributed with our project by donating a big amount of flowers that we share between the provisions of Knowle West Children's Centre but also with other projects like the Springfield allotments and the Local officer for the front garden completion that is going on around The Knowle area.

To get our share planted, we called out for help to our parents.

ALDI at Church Road big donation. 

 

Parents has come to help us platting.

They are doing great in our front!

All sort of news

During the last few month we have been really busy thinking about to keep developing our garden possibilities.

First, we achieved the Level 2 of the School Gardening Awards, sponsored by the RHS. Now, we are hoping to get the Level 3 soon and work on the next level during the summer term.

Also, we have been in touch with the One tree per Child project, here in Bristol. They donated 10 apple trees that we planted and looking after them carefully we got the in bloom a few weeks ago so now we are monitoring the trees seeking for the first signs of any fruit. 

Much more have happened but we will save the news for the next post! 

Gardening through the sense

Before Easter, we homed a gardening group for parents and children to learn how to enjoy and learn gardening at the same time we spend time play.

Organized by the Bristol Learning Communities Team and the Families Services of Knowle West Children Centre, this group went on for five weeks being a success.
Due it was planned for a small group, many parents that could not join in this edition were interested on attending in a future occasion.

Delivered but an amazing teacher and gardener but greater person Katherine Asal, the sessions were busy from the first minute to the last. 
Have a look to the following picture and description of the sessions. 

Seed collection at Inns Court

Seed Collection

Our children have been collecting seeds from the marigolds we grew so we have a stock for next spring.

They were really excited about planting some of them instantly just to see if they would grow with this cold or not.

Let's keep an eye! 

Christmas 

This Christmas we made our Christmas tree out of scrap wood. The children helped to put it together and to plant it.

They worked really hard!

                                        

Autumn

It is a quiet time in our garden in terms of doing jobs but we still keep ourselves busy by collecting seeds from our garden flowers but also collecting the potatoes that we sowed at the beginning of September. We had to collect them earlier than planned because we haven't found an organic solution to avoid the slugs and snails eating our harvest. However we collected a few dozen new potatoes so hopefully we will be able to eat them in a potato salad or keep them to replant in the future.

On a separate note, we have exciting news in that we have been awarded Level One in the RHS School Gardening Awards! So what does this mean for our project? Well, it means that we will get support and guidance to convert our garden into a successful learning resource. So by following their guidelines and proving to them our achievements, we aim to reach Level 5 in the future....watch this space!!

Level 1 Certificate

Habitat Identification Guides