Okay, maybe not whipped per se, but definitely a whirlwind of yum in the kitchen. Last week we harvested potatoes, this week we eat them! Gosh, I love gardening, don’t you?
And these were easy to make. A little olive oil, fresh chopped rosemary, salt and pepper and this time, we added a bit of Parmesan to the mix in lieu of sweet onions. Delicious. From kindergarten to middle school these potatoes were a hit. Next! Recipe can be found here.
In the garden this week, the kids pulled out the remaining potato plants, squash, and corn in preparation for crop rotation.
Now you’re probably wondering, corn? I don’t recall seeing any corn. Well, they weren’t much to see unfortunately. I mean, they were exciting for the kids, but not much when it comes to cobs.
Perhaps we didn’t feed them enough. Corn are pigs in the garden and maybe our eyes were smaller than their appetites. They’re cute, but should be twice the size. We’ll work on it.
Moving right along, peanuts will fill our beds over the summer. As part of our crop rotation, these guys are awesome because they fix the soil with nitrogen–especially important after the hogs wiped it clean of any and all nutrients. Yes, I’m talking about corn and squash, even potatoes. Peanuts love the heat, too and will take near about the entire summer break to grow and mature, about 3-4 months. Remember: plants like soft beds of dirt–especially peanuts. The plants drop pegs or “stems” into the ground and that’s where the peanuts form. If the soil is too hard, the peanuts will have a hard time of it. So make it easy and loosen that soil!
We won’t follow our row of black beans with peanuts, because they’re part of the same rotation family. Instead, will “close” that row off and wait until fall, maybe plant some broccoli or cabbage, both of whom love nitrogen. Why? Because they’re “leaves” and leaves love nitrogen. Sing it with me kids: beans, leaves, roots and fruits! (It’s our preferred order for crop rotation.) Beans, leaves, roots and fruits!
Seed Sale begins on Monday which means the kids have furiously cutting and gluing their seed packets together and filling them with seed. We have a wagon-full of black beans and pole beans to sell, plus some squash, sunflower and even tomato (some of which will have to be handed out the week after as you can’t rush Mother Nature!). Cucumber didn’t fare so well, but we won’t give up on them. There’s always fall! 🙂
Not only will we raise money for the garden, but the students will reap the rewards of independence knowing they are FULLY sustainable. From seed to harvest to dish, glove to tool to feed and mulch, they’ll take pride in the fact it all stemmed from their effort. The way I see it, self-reliance breeds self-respect. And that’s a good thing.
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