I just wanted to say thank you to our investors who generously donated both money and plants to our garden.  We were able to successfully plant and harvest hundreds of tomatoes, bunches of Swiss Chard, as well as a generous amount of mint and other herbs.  This was my first time planting such a large and successful garden.  We learned a few lessons along the way like how to cage your tomatoes early to prevent them from completely covering the ground and taking over.  Or how to be cautious about stepping into ant hills while you are gardening.  But, we loved the experience and were able to bond over it.  Being at a Montessori school we teach our kids for 2 years so, half of Pruit's Planting Club are still here as we gear up for another planting season.

We spent about 1/3 of our total budget last year on things like gloves and towels (which we used as knee pads) and natural pesticides (we used Neem Oil).  I was also able to entice the students to stay after school to pull weeds by throwing a lemonade party.  We combined the mint we grew with blueberries and lemons to make a delicious treat to share after pulling weeds.

With the remaining budget we are set to engage in Spring planting again this year.  We are also looking into investing in new raised beds or large galvanized steel tubs to use as beds.  Being able to share this experience with the students was not only educational, it taught them as humans to respect and appreciate their environment.  I am looking forward to a new gardening season with the students and I know they are extremely excited as well.

As a result of our success, our campus has applied to become part of the REAL School Garden program  which offers education to teachers on gardening, builds and outdoor classroom for all classes to use, and guides students through planing and implementation of an elaborate garden space.  I am hopeful that this a stepping stone to a large and comprehensive garden program for our school.

Thank you again!

I tried to attach before and after pictures of our garden as well as pictures of the bounty we shared but the file sizes are too big.  Feel free to contact me though and I would love to email them!