| I am with the Student Government Association and we want to plant a garden for the school. We would like your advice on which low-maintenance flowers and what type of soil to get. |
| There's a lot to think about when planing a school garden. Rather than trying to go into detail here, I'll suggest a book that will really help you get started. It's called "National Gardening Association's Guide to Kids' Gardening", and it's available from our Education Department. You can visit www.garden.org to find kid's gardening information, or phone 800-538-7476 and ask to receive the Growing Ideas Teaching Tools catalog. Your first task might be to have a soil test done. Contact your Cooperative Extension office for information about soil test kits. It's important to check lead levels in urban gardens, especially if you intend to grow food crops. In the meantime, start thinking about the layout of your garden, what you hope to accomplish (for example, do you want to be able to harvest before school lets out?, will someone maintain the garden over the summer, etc.? Another good general reference book is "Gardening for Dummies" (forgive the title...) by the editors here at NGA. It's a comprehensive reference for all types of gardening. You might want to visit the "Kids and Classrooms" section of NGA's web site for ideas on incorporating plants into the curriculum. Hope this information is helpful. |
