Chase Avenue Elementary School Garden Club

When trying to take care of our garden during the school day became too difficult, I decided to see if there was interest in an after-school Garden Club.  Last year, I had forty 4th and 5th graders who came after school to work in our school gardens.  We made cole slaw with our cabbage, sampled various kinds of lettuce dipped in ranch dressing, made wind chimes, coffee filter butterflies, and made a vermicomposting bin that we fed with compostable items students collected after lunch time.  This year, with the help of my husband (a hydroponics store owner), we opened after school garden club for signups, and ended up with eighty interested students!  We divided the students into 2 groups and had Tuesday Garden Club and Thursday Garden Club.  We have expanded our gardens and are excited for Spring weather to arrive.  We planted 9 bare-root fruit trees, and are going to design the area outside the Principal's office when we come up with a suitable landscape design.  At Chase Avenue Elementary School, we eat our vegetables because we grow them, too!