Concord

We want to grow our own food



15 comments:

  1. At Concord we decided to follow the path of growing food both here at Concord and at the Urban Farm

    We came up with some questions

    1. Why is food important to a farm?
    2. What type of foods are there?
    3. What are the needs of a garden?
    4. What effects will the weather/sunlight/temperature have on the garden and the food?
    5. What can be grown on and under the ground?
    6. Why is soil important to growing food?
    7. Do we have to grow food in the ground?
    8. What other ways can we grow food?
    9. What can we do to protect our garden from pests?
    10. How can we grow summer vegetables in winter?
    11. Where around the school and at the urban farm can we put our garden?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Wendy,
    One of your questions is "Do we have to grow food in the soil?"
    A group in 8Nk focussed on hydroponics and found out some great information if you decide you want to go down this path. He actually found an airport that grew plants that the cafes in the building bought and used in their food!!! (http://www.urbangardensweb.com/2012/01/23/inside-peek-at-ohare-airports-vertical-farm/ )
    Another student found out about an unused subway tunnel in England that was now used to grow mushrooms!
    There are brilliant ideas out there for where food is being grown that is not in the ground!
    If you are interested I could get the student to send through what he found out?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mrs Campbell, Yes it would be great if he could share that information with us, from Karson

      Delete
  3. Great to see these questions from Concord students guiding inquiry. Thanks too to the students that worked with me the other day on the consequence wheels. Will you work with one of the other groups interested in compost? That way you could dispose of plant waste, but also get some nutrients back into your own garden. Dr McMillan

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jordan Bva you could do a vegetable garden and it could be used to feed animals on the farm or sale or just eat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jordan, when we were finding out information we came up with those ideas as well thanks, from Callum

      Delete
  5. I really liked the poster you brought to the Presentations Day for discussion with the other students. Can you take a picture of it and share it with us online? Thanks and keep up the great work. Dr McMillan

    ReplyDelete
  6. HI Room 5 Concord School,
    Thank you for posting your video. We really liked your scarecrow, we thought it was very funny. We also liked your idea about giving fresh vegetables to the food bank. We were wondering how big a raised bed you were planning to build. Have you thought about growing corn? Can you grow corn in Dunedin?
    We plan to put chickens on the farm, they would love to eat some of your scraps from the vegetable garden.
    Thank you for all the good ideas.
    Arleyah and Corbyn 7Bd KVC

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Room 5,

    Room 1 from Kaikorai has just watched your presentation. Great job! You had lots of really good points to make. We are just getting ready to film now. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Imogen and Maia we just watched your presentation awesome we both like the starting bit sooooo cool it really inspired us for some of are one.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Madeleine and Toyah from BVA Hi Concord we like you guys growing your own food GOOD LUCK

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Room 5 Concord

    I have just started planting seeds for early summer harvest and was wondering if you have started to sprout anything yet.
    I have been excited by the New Worlds mini garden promotion, it was amazing watching the coconut fibre expand. We are now experimenting at home to see if we can germinate the seeds faster by making small glasshouses for them using old plastic bottles.
    What discoveries have you made.

    Looking forward to seeing which veges you choose to plant.

    Mrs Eley

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Concord students! All the best to you. I am still in the United States of America. In the place I live, called Bloomington, Indiana, they grow LOTS of corn. It is the main crop. What have you decided to do on the farm site. I know we could help your ideas, because we have already got some raised planting beds for vegetables or small fruit bushes. What did you decide? I am really keen to find out. Go for it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hello Mr McMillan, Have you eaten much of the corn and how does it taste compared to our corn here in NZ. We have been on a visit to Kaikorai Valley to help build two of the boxed gardens. They were like a puzzle putting them together, sometimes it was confusing but we got it done. Next we broke up some branches and sticks to put as a base. After that, we filled it up with some dirt from the hillside. We got some old desks bases from your school and put two of them together. We drilled holes in the top one for drainage and sat it on top of another one so that the water could drain through if there was too much and if they got too dry they could suck some of the water back up to hydrate. We have planted beans, onions, brocolli, lettuce, peas, chives, parsley and some others seedlings to cultivate for the garden. We hope you get a good surprise when you get back to see all the work on the farm. from Room 5

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow Room 5, sounds like you have all been busy since the visit to the Farm. Since you have been here we have finished filling the first bed and started work on the second bed. It has been very slow going as it has rained a lot, so it has got very muddy and we have not been able to work as much as I had hoped. When do you think your seedlings will be ready to plant? I am hoping to be planting a whole bed of peas. Peas are great for the soil as they have little nodules in their roots for special bacteria to grow that help the plant by providing nitrogen. We can then harvest the peas next year and also make our own pea straw. Look forward to seeing your plants in the garden too.
      Thanks for all the help building the beds.
      Mrs Eley

      Delete