The Hardin garden had a table at the year-end Holiday expo where we sold a variety of products to raise money for our school garden program. We sold some plants potted by the students on science day, as well as holiday wreaths made by Mrs. McKinney and Ms. Rognstad's classes. We also had a station where children could paint and apply glitter to pine cones so that they looked like a Christmas tree. We had a great time telling people about the garden and raising funds for the next Hardin garden crop! ​

Science day was a huge success! Two classes came by the greenhouse and potted 40 plants that were all taken home for the winter. We had 7th graders and 3rd graders learn how to transplant a baby plant into a bigger container and how to care for it through the winter. Even though it was raining all day, we all had a good time doing plant therapy in the greenhouse! 

The Hardin Park elementary school is one of the biggest schools in the county. There is plenty of space for gardening. A few years ago a greenhouse was built as well as raised beds. The garden went dormant and this fall, blueridge women in agriculture brought Farmer Parker in to bring it back to life! There was a lot of vegetation inside the greenhouse that was inedible and making the space uncomfortable. The outside beds were full of inedible vegetation as well. Here are the pictures showing where we started.



​

Dear Garden Friends,


Your invited to help support the gardens at Hardin Park by donating to our SeedMoney Challenge Grant! 

Website:
https://www.seedmoney.org/en/projects/25915-Hardin-Park---6th-Grade-Science-Class-Garden-Project

This is a race to raise $400! If we are part of the first 75 projects to raise this amount, we will be matched another $400 by SeedMoney! The race begins on Sunday, November 15th and closes on December 15th!

Please help support growing our gardens and tell your friends! Any donation can help make a big difference towards reaching our goal!

“Ok, says Margie Mansure, local extension agent, next we are going to try the garden mystery smoothie. Please raise your hand if you think it tasted: yumm, so-so, or no thanks, I’ll try again later.”  In response, hands from around the classroom shot up—along with some smiles and excited chatter.
This was a snapshot from the recent Greening My Plate Lesson, connecting the garden to classroom. Students explored new flavors through taste-testing green smoothies as part of a classroom nutrition education activity and science experiment.

Garden GREENS was the topic of our lesson, and highlighted the amazing health benefits of these simple plants. We featured those we have growing in our garden. Lettuce mix, mizuna, mustard greens, broccoli raab and spinach. Our greens are thriving with the arrival of the cooler air of fall, and the amazing vermicomposting that was donated to the class by local company: Roots of Progress!

​Healthy soil is essential to growing healthy plants, and we are so lucky to get to experiment with soil powered by worms! This month we started our first classroom worm bin – to turn veggie scraps into garden gold – while learning about ecosystems in the process. Students will be responsible for monitoring the bin for temperature, moisture, and making observations, and feeding their worms. 

Jeff Martin, owner of Trillium Landscape Co., donated mulch to help control weeds and beautify the new garden space.  Be sure to check TLC out on Facebook and contact Jeff to help with your landscape beautification needs at 828-773-7360.  He provides free estimates!