Greetings!
We continued our block on brassicas. We harvested collards, Russian red kale, curly kale, arugula, Japanese red mustard and more. Most brassicas look very similar. They have broad green leaves with pronounced veins and thick stems. Half of our brassicas will not be mature until the spring. Hopefully, students will remember their shared characteristics and be able to identify them as they mature. These include brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage.
The freeze took out some of our lingering warm weather plants. We pulled them and made way for some spring plantings. This included the trimming of our perennial pepper plant. This plant is nearly 3 years old and produces many sweet peppers. The students used them for their salads even though they are not brassicas. Our pepper plant will return in March with the warm weather.
It was brought to my attention that some parents were concerned about avian flu and the students’ proximity to the chickens. Therefore, I have quarantined the chickens indefinitely. I will open their pen back up to the students after the possible risk subsides.
I am hosting a DAD WORKDAY on February 1st from 9AM until 12PM. This workday is for dads. No kids or wives please. I understand this sounds exclusive, at it may be, but dads are usually an underutilized group in elementary schools. Our amazing school has very proactive dads and I thought it was prudent to host a day in the garden with them. We still have the garden workday for ALL PARENTS on February 22nd. You can sign up for our DAD WORKDAY or PARENT WORKDAY by following the links below:
· DAD WORKDAY on 02/01 https://signup.com/go/BKscNAv
· PARENT WORKDAY on 02/22 https://signup.com/group/1135044326099
We are always seeking coffee grounds, seeds, aluminum cans and MASON JARS. PLEASE, NO MORE EGGSHELLS. If you have anything that might benefit our garden program, please contact me via email. The front table outside of the office is our designated drop-off location for garden essentials. james.obrien-moench@phxschools.org
Enjoy your weekend!
Mr. Moench
