Lincoln Elementary Vegetable Patch

Stop by the Lincoln Veggie Patch!

2009-08-29T13:32:00.001-07:00

If you haven't had a chance to meander past the Lincoln Veggie Patch this summer or didn't notice it when you scanned the teacher lists posted on the doors of the breezeway in August, make sure you stop by sometime soon. If you do, you'll notice ripening tomatoes, towering "Velvet Queen" sunflowers, fresh basil, feathery carrot tops and large zucchinis, among other things. We don't really have a harvesting protocol yet, so if you feel compelled to snap off a tomato or pinch a few basil leaves for dinner, I encourage you to do so.

The garden seems to have done very well with a modest amount of summer care. The location seems perfect for growing. I hope this little patch is just the beginning of sustainable agriculture efforts at Lincoln School!

Planting the Patch

2009-06-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

We started with a corner of the long raised bed along the school's breezeway. The students usually keep off this particular bed and it gets good afternoon sun exposure, so we thought it would be the perfect spot for our garden. Plus, there just so happens to be a spigot nearby, so it's well situated for watering.

Our first task was to pull weeds and move the recently applied woodchips.

When the weeds were removed and the woodchips were pushed to the side, we amended the soil with one 40 lb. bag of potting soil, two 40 lb. bags of compost, one five gallon bucket of vermicompost, and one two and a half cubic yard bag of sphagnum peat moss.

We then put all the seedlings in place and prepared to plant everything.

Finally, we planted the seedlings, spread the seeds, labeled everything with popsicle sticks and spread a bit of remaining peat moss around the base of each plant. Voila! Our garden is planted and ready for watering.

Welcome!

2009-06-01T10:53:00.000-07:00

Lincoln Elementary Vegetable Patch is a new victory garden that will grow on the grounds of Lincoln Elementary in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. It exists primarily for educational purposes, in order to encourage students, their families and the folks of the surrounding neighborhoods to learn about food plants and their role in building sustainable communities.

The patch was planted on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 with vegetable seedlings (cherry, roma and beefsteak tomatoes, jalapenos, bush bean, zucchini, watermelon), seeds (carrots), flowers (velvet queen sunflowers) and herbs (basil, cilantro and dill). In an area near the patch we also transplanted sage and oregano, as well as pumpkin seedlings and seeds. All of these plants will be nearing harvest time at the start of the 2009-10 academic year.

We invite the community to view and enjoy this small garden. We ask only that you do not walk on the garden, as this compacts soil and puts our plants at risk.

If you and your family would like to donate some volunteer hours to tending our patch, please contact Heather Zydek at heatherzydek(at)gmail(dot)com.