I  have  run flexible  black  poly  tubing  to   all  the planting  boxes  including the rain    gutters  which   were  installed   along  the   walls.  A  timer  initiates  a   slow   drip  which    in  the  gutters  leads  to  a  gentle cascade  of   water   from  high  to  low  containers.  With  an adequate  and  consistent  water  supply  these    wall  plantings   should  begin   to    thrive. Presently  they    contain  seedlings. Everything  in  the  garden   is  from   seed  and   is  still
maturing    but     by  the  time  school   starts  in   August  the  garden     should  be  full  of     flowers  and  vegetables.  Fingers  crossed. :)

In  May  I  started    seeds  of  all  sorts.  With  cold  night  temps  they  grew  slowly    but  finally
things  are  kickin'  into  gear.  

Dragon tongue beans,  purple podded  pole  beans,  Kentucky  pole  beans, cherokee wax beans and  gold Marie yellow  beans  are  set  to  flower  so  beans    won't  be  far    behind.

 


After an eventful afternoon with the honey bees, I set off to build a few strawberry beds out of some rocks from our little rock pile. 

 Here's where all the fun starts...strawberry beds. 

Some of our strawberry plants have started fruiting. We are pretty happy to see them. 

 






These strawberries are loving their new, spacious private quarters. 

We've got all sorts of things starting in our strawberry containers. We hope to get most of these in the ground before school gets out for the summer. 

It's not just strawberries and honey bees at Valle Crucis, though....we've got a couple other great things going on, too. For one, the thought of a real "green wall" is exciting for all of us. Another idea we hope to put to action is a garden mural on the side of the oil tank near the pre-k space. Wouldn't that be fun activity for all of us? Keep your eyes peeled for more updates soon to come!

Valle Crucis school is the latest Watauga county school to enroll in the Lettuce Learn project which was started  by Courtney Baines Smith a teacher and doctoral candidate at ASU. Around the country there has been growing interest in finding alternative methods of teaching, inspiring, and energizing students by exposing them to hands on learning in an agricultural/ garden environment. It makes so much sense in this beautiful and rural county we live in where many farm children attend our schools and our farm history spans many generations. Science,  history,  literature,  mathematics,   and  art all have  great  connections  to  gardening.  Let's "dig'  into  it.

Presently the school has two incubator gardens and some great things are underway. I see peas, strawberries, lettuce, blueberries and much more eagerly springing up . I will be nurturing these  garden through the summer and fall and will  soon begin  turning a plot of soil out behind the school which gets lot's of sun and begin sowing vegetables and flowers of all kinds.  Teachers  can   you  spread  the    word  to  your  students?  While   school  is  drawing  to  a  close I  hope  that  maybe  some  students and/or parents   and  educators  might  like  to  be  involved. Remember that   fresh  tasty food is  a  great  motivator  and   fun  and  learning  are  a  given. No  obligation  is  necessary  and  I   know  the  school  year  has  been  long  and  everyone  needs  a  break  but  hope    y'all  will  stop    by   a   check  things  out.   

Till  the  close  of   school  I  will     be    at  the   school  most    mornings in   the  secret   garden and/or    out   back or  helping  out  in  the  Pre -K garden.  I  have  hundreds  of  plants  germinating  and    growing    for the  school  garden  and    hope  to start  planting    before  school  ends.  Fingers   crossed  that  when  school  resumes  in  August  the    bounty    will  be   coming  in.