The Orca K-8 School Garden Blog!

The school year is fast approaching and we have got a lot happening in the garden. As part of a school wide FOOD unit, we will be harvesting and cooking our own cabbages, tomatoes, greens, potatoes, and more. We want the students seeing the full cycle of food- all the way to their full bellies. So stay tuned for more updates (and hopefully more heat to get some things growing a little more!). It does look like this late summer we had will be good for students to harvest tomatoes because they haven’t ripened too fast.

We have hosted a great workshop here at Orca for CITY FRUIT http://www.cityfruit.org/ , who teach people how to harvest and preserve fruit in their neighborhood. Got a neighbor with a pear tree, where the pears just drop on the ground and rot? Maybe plums too? Well City Fruit is on a mission to get these fruits harvested and eaten by families and communities around Seattle. Check out this link, where you can map a fruit tree! http://city-fruit.appspot.com/

Our plot over there is looking great. We also planted some Orca starts in the food bank plot, that got off to a slow start due to those pesky slugs! Now the tomatoes and such look great. Students will get a a chance this fall to learn and participate in community gardening.

Where’s that heat we need for our tomatoes (though we have our first red one- a Stupice!)? It feels pretty much like Summer today, but has been really overcast the last week. Gotta love Seattle- really! The garden is looking good though, and we are increasing our food bank donations. Check it out!