Measuring Growth....

A few different summer classes have been using the garden as a way to practice their measuring skills. One group has been measuring vegetables each week, keeping track of how much they're growing, and another group measuring the perimeter of the garden to figure out its area: 2400 square feet!

Meanwhile, Across Town...

Along with the RMS garden, I've also been helping out with Vermont Achievement Center's garden, working with kids who are part of the Kaleidoscope camp. We've been doing all kinds of things: planting potatoes, doing soil art, seeding kale and cabbage, and of course, lots of weeding! While the resident groundhog has utterly destroyed all the squash and beans, other veggies, especially the tomatoes and corn, are thriving. Check out these onions we picked last week!

Summer Radishes

Meghan and Nick planted a new batch of radishes around the pole bean teepee....hopefully they'll sprout in this hot, muggy weather we've been having. They also helped water: Thanks Meghan and Nick!

Old School Tomatoes

We have two whole rows of tomatoes planted in the garden, all different varieties, including: juliet, moskvich, garden peach, black prince, and sun gold. Most of these varieties are heirloom tomatoes. Heirloom varieties are open pollinated, non-hybrid varieties of tomatoes. This means they are naturally pollinated by things such as insects. Heirloom varieties tend to be old-fashioned varieties that were developed by small farmers over time, instead of being created by big agricultural companies. People like heirloom tomatoes because they have a lot of variety and they: you pick different tomatoes that are good for paste, or that taste good fresh, or that just look funky. There are also different heirloom varieties that grow well in different regions, based on the weather and length of the growing season. I can't wait to bit into a soft, fuzzy, orange Garden Peach tomato. Yummmm....

Shoutout to Our Resident Artist

A parent today was asking me if I had drawn the garden's logo (the logo at the top of this blog). Wish that was the case (it's pretty awesome) but no. But that question reminded me that I hadn't given the real artist his due credit. For one of his YES (Year End Studies) projects, Rutland High student Kenny Brewster drew these sweet logos for the garden. We're hoping to put the logo on a tshirt and sell it as a fund raiser (at the Rutland Farmer's Market and the like), so keep an eye out. Thanks again Kenny!

The Noblest of Fruits

One of Ms. Pringle's English classes planted an apple tree near the garden in honor of a local soldier. The variety is "Liberty Apple," which is fitting, considering why the tree was planted. Liberty is one of the best disease resistant varieties of apple in New England. I've already spied some apples that have started growing. Can't wait for the fruit in the fall...thanks guys for planting the tree!

"Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits."

-- Henry David Thoreau, Wild Apples

Sanders Announces Grant for VT School Gardens

Last week VT Senator Bernie Sanders announced $120,000 in grants to help establish 40 school gardens throughout Vermont. The grants will provide money for supplies and will connect each garden with a master gardener in the area. Way to go Bernie for recognizing the importance of school gardens! You can read the full article about the grants at on VTDigger.org by clicking here.

Mini Harvest

Now that school is over, it's classroom cleanout time! Kristen took a break from cleaning to check out the garden. We picked a few radishes to give them a try. They're still small but have a spicy aftertaste. Yum! Looking forward to bigger radishes, and soon: lettuce....

Stars and Flames?

Last week Ms. Tobin's family and consumer science class came out for a while to help: they created a flower fire pit, created rows, put in stakes for the fence, untangled morning glories, and planted squash. They got a ton done in not a lot of time! During the spring they also made a crazy scarecrow, with a button nose and real flowers for hair...

Next week: an apple tree and pictures of actual people!!

The Salad Bowl

Last week was a busy one in the garden. We raked the soil into rows in all kinds of shapes: straight lines, circles, triangles, half-moons, and even trapezoids! Some parts of the garden had already been planted: we've got a “salad bowl” section, which has lettuce, onions, and radishes. The “peace garden” has a rock outline of a peace sign, filled with tomatoes, peppers and cilantro. We took a trip to Smokey House Center in Danby, who donated a bunch of seedlings: tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, brussel sprouts, onions, thyme, broccoli and squash. We're looking forward to visiting Boardman Hill Farm in the near future!

Introductions

Hi!! Before we dive into garden news, first things first: I want to introduce the face behind these words. I'm Katie Ross and I live just a bit south of Rutland in Danby. I'm in grad school for Environmental Studies and Integrated Learning at Antioch New England over in Keene, New Hampshire. As part of my schoolin' I'm helping out with the middle school garden this summer: digging in the dirt, helping weed and plant, and doing other projects to pretty up the garden. I've got a good mix of garden and teaching experience and am looking forward to getting my hands dirty in the middle school garden this summer!

I'll be updating the blog regularly - at least once a week - and once summer programs start at the middle school I'll be recruiting students to help write posts and take photos, so be sure to check back regularly!