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Sometimes all you have to do is plant an idea, provide the tools needed and step back (http://www.ted.com/speakers/sugata_mitra.html). You have to be prepared for the end result to not be yours, but theirs. There’s a chance it may not be what you hoped. But there’s every chance it is what you hoped and...
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It was harvest time at Sir John Leman High School today as we picked and munched on the first spring harvests of radish. These were sown at the beginning of March on my last visit to the school - 8 weeks later - there is a healthy crop of bright red radish roots! We washed them then tasted them and although...
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How did that happen? Here we were with snow and ice and rain and snow and rain and frost and wham - suddenly it feels like summer, never mind spring. Did I sleep in, or go further than I thought on my new road bike ? Many of my schools have been caught out by the change in weather and the unfortunate...
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It is the beginning of March and year 11 students at Sir John Leman High School were itching to get growing in their school garden today. Students dug out the compost that has formed over the last year - a collection from the school's food technology department fruit and vegetable waste.Tiger worms...
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Gardening shouldn't be a bore or a chore, though it sometimes feels like this - when we've got a hundred other things to do, or when it's so cold your feet are freezing inside , or it's all a bit damp and wet out there. But a bit like Mr Happy encouraging you to smile (just try turning...
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It’s that time again………… early February and every kitchen gardener is itching to get outside and sow their first seeds of 2010………..but mother nature is slightly against us as not only are my raised beds far too wet – but also ever so slightly frozen, so unless things change quickly I’d say its going...
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As I arrived at school this morning the first question I was asked was ‘Can we garden in the snow’? The thought of gardening seems quite ridiculous to many of the staff; the crops we planted last Autumn are still hidden under a thick layer of snow and the ground is still frozen. I however have a few...
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I was pleased with myself at the start of December. At my allotment and in the 15 schools I work with in the south of England, I had ensured next year's early harvests by sowing Japanese onion sets ('Senshui Yellow'), peas ('Meteor' and 'Feltham First'), broad beans ('Aquadulce...
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I met the school council at Ferring primary school the other day. I don't know who was more daunted - me (I'd never met a school council before), or them (many had never met a horticulturalist before, never mind a 'royal' one). But how exciting. They have decided to put on their own show...
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This has been a busy second half of the autumn term, visiting schools who have come along to the free autumn term twilight training sessions I ran in the first half of the autumn term, across the East of England. Last week I visited Elm Tree Primary School in Lowestoft, Suffolk. Here I discovered a dedicated...
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The autumn sowings of broad beans and peas are ready for harvesting now - infact - we picked over 3 kilograms of broad beans at Brampton Village Primary - just before half term. Autumn planted onions and garlic will be ready soon too. Radishes were also eaten by pupils. Its been a busy summer term.,...
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Costessey High school is busy building a new growing area to support the new Environment and Land based diploma that will start in schools from September 2009. Back in the autumn I worked with Year 11 GSCE science students to design the new garden, measuring the plot and marking out the new beds. Pauilne...
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Hi all, I recently visited Southfield Junior School, Peterborough. The school was having a fun run and plant sale to raise funds for its school gardening project and celebrate their new Victorian garden. The children had a non-uniform day (mufti), instead of paying £1 to wear non-uniform; children had...
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