For the past couple weeks a group of enthusiastic students from the Hotchkiss K8 have met for a late season garden club. It’s been a very long and warm autumn season here in western Colorado – so we were able to harvest quite a few things that were left in the raised beds! We talked about the many reasons why people keep gardens and why it’s important –
- for food
- enjoyment
- habitat for wildlife
- learning
- preservation of open space
- to attract pollinators
- make money
They came up with a lot of reasons — this is the short list!
All of the kids worked hard and had a blast harvesting potatoes, onions and popcorn. We packed up the harvest in brown paper bags and they all took some home to share. I had to smile when I heard that during the Thanksgiving holiday they used the food that we grew at the public school for a couple of meals.
Digging potatoes
The following week we planted garlic. It was cold! We planted it late! But the kids were super enthusiastic and even found a few more potatoes – albeit frozen this time – but is was just as much fun. I can still hear their chants “pah-TAY-toe, pah-TAH-toe!”
Planting garlic- November 30
Garlic rows
…and I’m really sorry about the orientation of the photos… if you have any tips let me know!