Portway Junior School Garden Blog

Sampling Day

2008-07-02T09:48:00.000+01:00

With the summer holidays quickly approaching, we have used some of the produce grown to have a tasting session. We picked carrots, broad beans, spinach, radish, onions and potatoes. With these we boiled the new potatoes, stir-fried the chopped veg and also had some raw. We also used some of the rhubarb to make a rhubarb fool for pudding.

This is Anthony Worrall Thompson's recipe if you have some rhubarb spare.

Ingredients

350g/12oz rhubarb

55g/2oz caster sugar

1 orange, juice only

water

150ml/¼ pint cream, whipped

1 egg white, beaten until peaked

Method

1. Place the rhubarb, sugar, orange juice and enough water to cover the rhubarb in a medium saucepan. Boil rapidly until rhubarb is soft.

2. In a bowl, fold the egg white into the whipped cream.

3. When the rhubarb is soft, fold it in to the egg white and cream mixture. Reserve a little rhubarb for decoration.

4. Spoon the resulting fool into a tall dessert glass. Top with the reserved rhubarb and serve.

2008-06-27T09:43:00.000+01:00

With a huge thank you to Mrs Dent, we have bought an apple tree to start off an orchard!

The very kind Mrs Dent, donated £25 to the gardening club to buy something and the children thought that an apple tree would be a brilliant idea because it hould last for a long time and give future children at Portway a chance to try home grown produce.

Looking Good!

2008-06-27T09:31:00.000+01:00

Here are our beds they are growing well and being watered daily to get the best out of the plants.

BBC Breathing Places

2008-05-12T10:16:00.009+01:00

The BBC have been asking people to go out early in the morning and listen to the Dawn Chorus. It is a really lovely sound and it is great fun for everyone trying to work out which bird song is which. On the site there is a downloadable mp3 of a dawn chorus and also example songs of named, common birds that you will probably hear. There are also instructions how to make a bird nesting box, a bird feeder plus some colouring activies to print out and colour.

You could also try looking at the RSPB site.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/

Here you can search by bird name and there are videos and sound clips available.

Why not have a go and fill in the survey

Why not e-mail some of your work and we can add it to our site.

Happy listening...Have fun!

Holly hedgerow is planted...well started!

2008-05-08T14:45:00.002+01:00

As we had hoped the holly hedgerow has been started. We have filled in some gaps in our existing hedge to deter people from trespassing on school property.

The new hedgerow should soften the look of the metal railings around the school grounds and also allowed some children to change our school grounds with their green fingers.

Dead-Heading begins

2008-05-08T10:54:00.002+01:00

They took a while to get into the ground but everything has it's time. Unfortunately the daffodils have finished their blooms and are now looking well past it. The Gardening club has been taking off the flower heads so that all of the nutrients can be focussed into the bulb for next year rather than a seed pod.

The beds are filling up!

2008-05-07T12:56:00.003+01:00

Here are some of the Gardening club, checking the radish. A couple of weeks of sun would be lovely and plenty of water. They should be delicious and cruchy!
Here is one of the beds almost filled with plants. On the wigwams are our broadbeans and sugar snap peas.

Down here are our tomato plants (Gardeners Delight). Hopefully they will be happy here in this sunny spot.

We have sown 2 rows of mixed salad leaves and another row of radish.

Squish and Squash

2008-05-02T12:03:00.000+01:00

The seedlings are looking good and many will need to be planted in the ground soon. We are just waiting to make sure that the frosts won't return.
We have planted six different varieties to see how unusual the fruits look.
We are excited to watch them grow and we will be photographing them as they get bigger, so watch this space.

Tomatoes Are Go!

2008-04-28T14:01:00.002+01:00

Some of our gardeners have potted up our Gardener's Delight seedlings, so that they can grow on. Although some of them have been growing since November, they are still looking very healthy, although we did have a problem with some of them getting 'leggy' because they have been searching for more light, for longer. Hopefully they will continue to grow and we are looking after them, hopefully they will be ready for children and parents to make a donation to continue our work and also give families the chance to taste the true taste of summer!

Hedge-work to continue

2008-04-24T07:59:00.006+01:00

We have been donated some holly seedlings which would have otherwise been thrown out. In an attempt to improve our grounds with evergreen plants, next week some of our dedicated gardeners will be planting the seedlings near our front entrance.

If you have any unwanted seedlings that are appearing in your garden that are suitable for school, contact Mr Oldfield or the school office, we are very happy to hear from you.

Gardening Club get their just reward!

2008-04-02T10:31:00.007+01:00

As a token for all of their hard work so far this year, the children had the opportunity to take a tomato plant (Moneymaker), pot it up and take it home to see if they can grow any of their own tomatoes at home.

Although some of the children are already growing things at home or set some seeds, they are going to see if they can provide something for a summer salad at home. With some of the group sowing the seeds about a month ago, they have been in the warm classroom climate so have germinated pretty quickly.

It is too early for them to plant out yet (May should be okay) but hopefully for those that don't yet have a small area of the garden, parents should be able to find a spot for some delicious ripe tomatoes.

The plants are about 8cm tall at the moment. They need to be looked after carefully and watered regularly. An occasional feed isn't necessary until the fruit start to form.

This link will take you to the Gardeners World website which is really good for ideas on how to look after everything in the garden, but this link is specifically for tomatoes.

http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/greenhouse-tomatoes/

Gardening Club This Week

2008-03-19T10:05:00.000Z

Whilst a small group of children were planting seeds, two other groups were also working hard. One group has gone around the school ground taking photos of where all of the crocus and daffodil bulbs have been planted. This is so that we a can make a picture map which will be used next year when we will hopefully obtain more bulbs to continue the brightening up of our school grounds. We can then avoid unearthing the existing bulbs and add to the display.

Our last group were working in the court yard. Some of the plants still need to be pruned like our 2 buddleia plants and flower seeds needed planting to give a summer display. Although the grounds are looking good the fun and hard work has only just begun.

Sowing outdoors begins

2008-03-19T09:52:00.000Z

Although the wintery weather is not fully complete with a full mixture of frost, wind and heavy rain, the weeds are beginning to grow as you may be aware. This is a good indicator that the ground is warm enough to encourage growth. The other reason is because the school growing season needs to be finished before the summer holidays, many plants need a good head start to get established as quickly as possible.

Here are some of our gardeners sowing in one of the beds.

Why not have a go for yourself? Many seeds are cheap at the moment in the shops or ask someones you know if they have a few spare seeds to share and plant them somewhere in a pot or a border and see what happens.

It is great fun watching the seeds germinate and start growing into a tiny seedling. Most seed varieties don't need too much attention, only a bit of watering as it gets bigger.

Then you get to taste the delights of your labours.

Spring Salad Sampling

2008-03-17T15:24:00.003Z

Today Portway had a new style breaktime. The children were all given little bags of salad to try and encourage them to bring a healthy snack at play-time. The time taken to prepare the fresh salad was well worth it as many children tried a mixed salad with several ingredients.

The salad consisted of lettuce(Romaine, Round and Iceberg), cherry tomaotes, cucumber, celery, peppers (orange, red, green and yellow), spring onion and grated carrot.

Many children mentioned they tried something new and are now going to ask their parents to bring in items of salad as their snack.The children have been very responsible in their attitudes towards bringing in healthy snacks.

They are aware of the benefits of healthy eating and we feel it really makes a difference in lessons. We hope the children continue to bring in healthy snacks and together we'll encourage more variety in our diet.We would also like to thank Mr and Mrs Oldfield for their efforts preparing the salad...all 330 bags of them!

See the school website http://www.portwayjunior.com/ or click on the Spring Salad Sampling link at the start of this post for photos of the children.

Gardening Club gets rid of the dead wood

2008-03-12T14:48:00.005Z

At garden club today we needed to clear some of the courtyard. Over the years we have added lots of lovely plants but if we didn't clear the dead plants away it would be difficult for other bulbs and plants to grow. Here are some of us hard at work.

Gardening at home?

2008-03-11T10:40:00.003Z

Why not email some of your pictures of you hard at work in the garden. The photos will be uploaded onto this site, and will be seen by others looking at this blog. (Check with your parents that it is okay to do it!) Even if you don't want yourself seen on the site why not take a picture of the plot, other people always want to see how other people arrange their garden. It doesn't matter whether it's a plant pot or an acre site. I know I'm always on the look out for good ideas or new and tasty crops to grow. Feel free to share it with everyone, and make this a community blog as well as in school.

email photos and tips to Portwaygarden@gmail.com

Victorian Gardening

2008-03-11T10:27:00.007Z

In Year 5 we have been studying The Victorians and have been on a recent trip to Southwell Workhouse. It was a really good day and it gave a super insight into the way that people lived, and what they had to endure during their time there.
Some of our commited garden spotters recalled that one part of the workhouse was dedicated to growing their own vegetables for the inmates. Everyone was responsible for looking after them. They even emptied the toilet waste onto it as manure...quite disgusting but it worked! If they got a good crop they would eat better, if they grew more the governor would be happy because he could sell some of the produce to local meaning the Parish would have to pay less for the upkeep of the 'Paupers'.

Unfortunately, with our timing, March is not really a good month to see a super crop, but the ground was ready for this years crops.

Check out the website below for more information... It's well worth a visit.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-theworkhouse.htm

http://www.workhouses.org.uk/

Waxwing still here!

2008-03-07T14:54:00.003Z

Thank you very much for your photos and sightings of the bird. We appreciate how rare these birds are and would appreciate any other photos that you have taken of it. It can be shared on this site for many others to see. The children have been very excited with our visitor and it hasn't seemed to be too bothered by the noise at playtimes! Staff have had regular updates of what it was eating and when by the children. Some have even taking to spending their spare time sitting watching it amongst the rowan trees.

Please email any photos to portwaygarden@googlemail.com. We can upload them onto the site and recognise you efforts too.

Aren't the flowers beautiful!

2008-03-07T14:00:00.007Z

Well done to everyone in Portway that has helped plant all of the bulbs. In total we have planted almost 4000 daffodil and crocus bulbs and every class has chosen their spot to hopefully make their view a little more colourful.

Although they are out now they may only last for a few more weeks but then all of the daffodils should be in full bloom to take over for another couple of weeks up until Easter.

Thank you also to everyone for staying off them and allowing them to grow freely without being trampled...remember it's all part of respecting our school. After all it was your effort to plant them!

Here are a few photos of them as they are now. Thank-you Elsie and Jothi, some brilliant pics! Once again a huge thank-you to Derby City Council for the main bulk of bulbs.

Potatoes For Schools

2008-03-04T11:48:00.000Z

We thought it might be fun to see how many potatoes we can get from a few seed potatoes. We are chitting the potatoes at the moment. (See images)

Click on the link and it should take you to the British Potato Council's website especially for teachers and children. Find out how to grow potatoes, where potatoes come from and how to cook them. There's more to potatoes than meets the eye!

Waxwing spotted at Portway

2008-02-26T09:32:00.006Z

We were fortunate enough to see one of these birds in our Rowan trees by the playground. Some ornithologists took pictures as these birds are very rare and their appearance is very erratic.
The information below is taken from the RSPB site. Follow the link to their site to see some more pictures and facts.

Latin name: Bombycilla garrulus
Family: Waxwings (Bombycillidae)

The waxwing is a plump bird, which is slightly smaller than a starling. It has a prominent crest. It is reddish-brown with a black throat, a small black mask round its eye, yellow and white in the wings and a yellow-tipped tail. It does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor, in some years in larger numbers, called irruptions, when the population on its breeding grounds gets too big for the food available.
The first British arrivals each winter are usually seen on the east coast from Scotland to East Anglia, but birds move inland in search of food, increasing the chances of seeing one inland.
When to see them : October to March.
What they eat : Berries, particularly rowan and hawthorn, but also cotoneaster and rose.

The amazing thing is that during our winter there are apparently less than 100 individual birds who arrive in the UK. How lovely that it chose us!!

Rhubarb

2008-02-15T11:16:00.003Z

Here we have a rhubarb crown. Hopefully it will settle into the ground quickly and start producing fruit which can cooked then tasted by our pupils.

The beds are finished!

2008-02-14T14:20:00.003Z

They have been a long time coming but they have been completed. You will see that the beds and the paths are layed. We have opted for a mixed path of pea shingle to try and discourage slugs and snails from venturing into the beds. The bark is to add a natural contrast so that it can create an extra aesthetic. Hopefully as well as the beds, the paths will become habitats of insects which not only pollinate the fruit and vegetables but they can also be discussed and the beds be used as a learning resource.

Today we have planted some red onions and some shallots. Plus we have put in some broadbean plants which have been growing in the classroom for a month or two.

We have started off some tomato plants of different varieties from seed, plus we have some pea plants growing which will go out when the weather gets a little warmer.

A Good First Days Work!

2008-02-06T15:46:00.000Z

The children have worked very hard on the first day to ensure that some of the crops are in the ground and can have the long growing season that they need. The produce is not in the best soil but we shall see how it goes!

We will be using the crops throughout the growing to take photos and create a resource for teaching especially in Science.

Our next step is to put a few more onion types in, we should also be receiving a potato pack from the Potato Council which is a competition to see which school can grow the most potatoes.

The pathway still needs a little more work, shifting the pea shingle is not a light job, but it will be done before too long.

Making a Path

2008-02-06T14:59:00.000Z

In gardening club we made a path out of wood chippings Mr Burgoyne helped! It was very fun making the path but Luke Large found a suprise...he dug up a frog from under all of the chipping and that was a suprise for Luke and the others. We set the frog free. A group of year fives and two year sixes helped out to make the path it was a fun lunch time at gardening club the frog was a suprise to everyone.

New Garden Veg

2008-02-06T14:31:00.000Z

Our team of young gardeners planted some potatoes. We planted 4 Arran Pilot and 6 Pentland Javelin. We planted them 30cm apart and a trowel's depth. Here is a photo of Jothi Venkatesh and Madeline Green 5o planting the potatoes in the raised beds.It was quite fun but we got very muddy. It took us quite a long time but it was good.

Strawberries...Will they be ready before Wimbledon?

2008-02-06T12:45:00.000Z

At the start of this developing idea we asked parents, grandparents and friends of the pupils of Portway if they had anything spare for our club. Very kindly we were donated 8 strawberry plants which we have kept in our classroom throughout the autumn and winter. Even though it is not necessarily the best time to plant them out we have as it is starting to warm up. Hopefully we should get som strawberries later in the year.

Know your onions

2008-02-06T12:39:00.000Z

We have planted a set of sturon onions. The soil is very poor quality so to give them a chance to grow into a large onion we have put each bulb into a cut up kitchen roll with good quality compost. This should mean the tube not only adds more nutrients but also retains some water when it get a bit drier and also recycles the usually thrown away tubes.

6 of the best

2008-02-05T15:30:00.001Z

A long time coming but they are finally finished. The 6th bed was made using reclaimed wood from a pallet which has been lying around for a while.

The fun can now begin with planting out some of the plants which have been overwintered. I look forward to seeing how it all develops.

There is still some work to do with it all. The paths need to been layed but the children are looking forward to the new planting season and hopefully tasting some of the produce they grow.

Gardening Games - Have a go!

2008-02-01T11:58:00.000Z

Click the link and have a go at the activities. RHS has created a website for students to learn and play more about gardening. There are some things that you could have a go at doing at home to improve your own garden patch.

Only 2 weeks to go for all entries

2008-01-30T20:37:00.000Z

Remember the date for all garden entries must be received by Feb 15th. Time is ticking get the colours out and get everyone involved including mums and dads. What would they like in a wildlife garden?
Happy designing!

Then there were 5

2008-01-25T15:27:00.000Z

5 of the beds are now built with one to go hopefully the weather will hold off long enough to finish the rest.

Work continues

2008-01-24T15:15:00.000Z

Work is slowly continuing. The mounds of turf are disappearing and the beds are looking more like the way they are supposed to look.

It never rains but it pours!

2008-01-18T11:45:00.000Z

The weather seems to determined to make sure that the beds will not be ready for the growing season. With heavy downpours all week it has been tough going, moving the soil and removing the surface water. The soil below has got quite a lot of clay in it which stops the rain draining deep into the ground. Hope fully in the next few days there won't be too much and we can get back to finishing the last couple of beds and getting the paths laid.

Most of the turf has now been buried under the beds with only a little bit left to fill any voids.

How low can you go?

2008-01-17T15:44:00.000Z

The PTFA have helped this project out by purchasing the timber, liner and pea shingle to create some of the paths. A huge thank you to them and to all of those responsible for raising the money in the first place.

Also a big thank you to our 2 Woodlands students and Duke of Edinburgh Awards volunteers Abi and Jo, thanks for all of your hard work getting the project this far.

This is the current state of the plot. As you can see 4 of the 6 beds are almost complete.

They need a little bit of topping up with good nutritious compost.

Because of the amount of turf which was taken off, rather than finding a place to dump it, the topsoil has been removed and holes dug so that they can be back filled with the turf, which will rot down and provide the soil in the beds with nutrients that the plants roots should be able to find and encourage better, healthy plants. You can see how deep the hole is by looking at the depth compared to the size of the shovel.

NWF Garden Centre Wildlife Competition

2008-01-17T10:51:00.000Z

We are asking you to take part in a national competition designing the perfect Wildlife Garden for your school. We want to get the children excited about the outdoors again, finding out about the wildlife in their own school playground and their own back gardens. You never know, we may even find the next David Belamy.

Take a look at this website for more details of the competition.

The winner gets their garden made for them in the Portway grounds for present and future pupils to enjoy.

http://www.nwfagriculture.co.uk/retail/swlp/index.html

Follow this link for hints and tips of what to include in your design

http://www.nwfagriculture.co.uk/retail/swlp/hintsandtips.html

All entries need to be returned to Mr Oldfield or the entry box by the office by Friday 15th February 2008

First bulbs sighted

2008-01-07T16:12:00.000Z

The bulbs around the school are beginning to show. The tops are just peeping through the turf at the moment. In the next couple of months they should be fully through, giving us a cascade of vibrant colours.

Turf Work!

2007-12-11T14:41:00.000Z

The first thing to do was to clear off the turf to allow us to expose the top soil that will be later in the raised beds.

The area used measures 8m x 4 m. You can see the turf piled around the edge that will be used to back-fill the holes once the beds are filled.

Festive Fruit For 30p

2007-12-03T11:40:00.000Z

During the month of December when there is always plenty of chocolate and other rich foods are available 24 hours a day, Portway is encouraing our Healthy Eating by selling apple, oranges and bananas for 30p.
With any profit made from this venture, equipment will be bought for the children to use during playtimes.

What to do next

2007-11-29T11:46:00.000Z

With the year coming to an end and the warm weather gone for a while, the gardening club is looking to tidy up the school grounds. The willow structure is looking like it has a pretty wacky hairdo at the moment and the children will be taming it so that the new growth in the spring will continue to cover it. The children have weaved some of the branches into the structure and will continue to do it until it can hold it's own shape.

Although many plants will not grow during the winter, a few children have planted some broad bean seeds so that they get a head start. We are also trying some tomatoes, peas and taken cuttings from the rosemary bush in the courtyard.

Some children also helped to make some bug habitats for the courtyard. Cutting up bamboo canes to 15cm lengths and then tying them together with string and hanging up.

Bug boxes provide snug, safe places for insects to hibernate. They are especially good for lacewings and ladybirds. These two species are very important in the garden as lacewing larvae and adult ladybirds and larvae consume insect pests. They avidly devour aphids! Solitary bees may also hibernate in a bug box.

Why not have a go at making one at home!

What can we do with this?

2007-11-22T12:03:00.000Z

Here we have an area of land near to the school that is not used for anything in particular.

This is what it looked like today...Plenty of work to be done!

Woodland Trust Helps Out!

2007-11-16T10:21:00.000Z

Portway have had some saplings donated by the Woodland Trust to add some hedging around the school playground. We already have a hedge around most of the school but these new additions should fill some of the empty gaps and naturalise the metal fencing from the inside.

The Gardening Club members have taken time out of their lunchtime to plant the saplings and started off the hedgerow following the instructions. Adobe Acrobat software required

http://www.treeforall.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/FAA436B9-880E-4096-9D37-1D30562440D6/0/HedgeandcopseinstructionsEngland270407.pdf

The hedgerow pack contained 30 plants of the following species: 6 Hawthorn, 6 Hazel, 6 Holly, 6 Dog Rose, 2 Dogwood and 4 Buckthorn.

The Woodland Trust website has some really good information if you are interested in starting your own hedgerow.

http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk/

The Bulbs Are In

2007-10-17T08:57:00.000+01:00

This week each of the 11 classes have taken time to plant their bulbs. The children have chosen where they would like their flowers to bloom and are now taking care not to tread on the areas to allow them to settle into the ground and do their work!

Our Gardening club has also taken on the task of planting almost half of the bulbs at the main entrance walkways so that in the spring children can see the bulbs coming through and as the weather warms the flowers should erupt into a bloom of colour.

Donation of Garden Equipment

2007-09-25T11:34:00.000+01:00

We would like to say a huge thank you to all that contributed. We had a huge variety of equipment brought in. Most of it will be really useful and can be used by the children.
Thank you also to those people who brought in bulbs and seeds. We have collected them and will plant them when the time is right.

School Kitchen Goes Green

2007-09-18T09:14:00.000+01:00

The Kitchen staff at Portway have started collecting their green waste from the lunchtime preparations. This is collected by children and added to the composting bin.

In addition to the collection from the kitchen, the green waste from the children's healthy snacks is collected after each breaktime and added to the compost bin, to be used as a natural compost around the school once it has decomposed.

Paper recycling continues

2007-09-06T10:09:00.000+01:00

At Portway the paper recycling scheme has been set up for sometime.
Our collections continue from each room and the boxes are emptied by the School Council Reps after their meetings.

The Work Begins

2007-09-06T00:10:00.000+01:00

At Portway we are looking for ways to improve our grounds.
We are incredibly lucky with the amount of space that we have. We have decided that the grounds could be put to use; not only to enrich the aesthetics of our environment; but to also provide the pupils with a means of interacting with the environment and reap the rewards of their hard work.
Our plan is to work hard on improving the look of the grounds.

We have been very fortunate to have 1000 daffodil bulbs and 2000 crocus bulbs donated by Derby City Council. The children will be involved with the planting of these bulbs, both their location and planting will take place as a class activity. Photos will be taken as a token thank you towards the Derby In Bloom competition where many of the bulbs planted by the City Council will make Derby a more colourful place to be.