Garden care
The most important thing in a garden is the people: in our case the mentor and their colleagues, and first and foremost, of course, the children.
The garden must be designed for them from the outset. We keep that in mind at the start and throughout.
How do we take that into account when planning the garden and then working in it?
- How wide can the beds be so that children can still reach the plants?
- Where will the children wash their hands when they leave the garden, so that as little precious time as possible is lost?
- Where can they sit down and write something; is there any shade, or shelter from a shower of rain?
- How will we organise the work so that every class or group can follow as much as possible of the garden’s full cycle, from preparation and sowing through care to — very importantly — the harvest?
Work in the garden allows — indeed requires — children to co-operate and complement one another. Competition is less welcome here; in the wrong place it can even do harm. In the garden there are no plants that are “only mine” (though of course I may have my favourites); they are all “ours”. For the garden to thrive, we must all work unselfishly to make everything go as well as it can.
Work in the garden is set first of all by the rhythm of nature and of living processes, and we organise it so that children can follow plants from seed to fruit and come to understand their own part in the thriving of the garden ecosystem. It is not right for children only to hoe and pull weeds; let them experience as much of the whole as possible. More…
Tools and materials should suit children. In a kindergarten especially we may need smaller watering cans and hand hoes. We should also make sure the materials we use are sound from an environmental point of view, and make as much as we can ourselves. Colleagues from other subjects, design and technology for instance, can help with this.
Seed and seedlings are an extremely important part of organic gardening. There is more on this in the section on this page.
Where do we get, or how do we make, the things a school eco-garden needs? Always ask first which solutions are the simplest and call for the least cost and effort. As already said, children can make a great deal themselves under our guidance.
About organic seed: how to recognise it and where to get it
About organic seed
Organic seed is of vital importance to the existence of all living and non-living things.
Setting up organic school gardens calls not only for natural handling of the soil but also for using and raising organic seed. Over the years the use of many native varieties has been lost.
Today and in the future it is our moral and ethical duty to find, use, grow and preserve everything that is not yet entirely lost.
How do we recognise organic seed?
All organic seed on sale carries the European organic production mark, and may also carry the Demeter and Biodar marks. If no suitable organic seed can be found on the market, obtain untreated seed of conventional origin.
Do not buy treated seed!
Treated seed can be told by its unnatural colour (usually pink or lilac). Such seed is inedible for people and animals alike, and sowing it contaminates the soil.
Before buying seed, read the label on the packaging the seed comes in.
In Slovenia there are people who love their land and understand what healthy food production means; people who keep native plants going, and people who collect and preserve natural organic seed. It is worth getting in touch with them, because along with native organic seed they hold a great deal of knowledge about producing and preserving it. Educational institutions — kindergartens, primary, secondary and higher schools — have an invaluable role to play here. Young generations must be shown what seed means and how varied our plant life is, whether through collecting seed, preserving diversity, growing healthy food or in other ways.
Obtaining, or better still growing, organic seed should become a priority in the curricula of Slovenian schools.
Where do we get organic seed and seedlings?
They are sold by certified organic seed companies. We also suggest asking at organic farms near you.
Suppliers of organic seed can also be found on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment, in its database.
At the Institute for Sustainable Development we have teamed up with organic farms to supply planting material to schools and kindergartens in the School Eco-Gardens programme. The list is here (Organic farms for mentors).