Lanto's 5th grade class starts Jefferson garden study

Today the 5th graders in Mr. Lantos' class began their study of Thomas Jefferson the horticulturist.
They learned that the 3rd president's garden at Monticello was 1,000 feet long and had over 250 varieties of vegetables.  We discussed heirloom seeds and compared them to family heirlooms as something that is handed down from generation to generation.

Children from each of the two groups assisted by volunteer Gretchen Arnold measured 1,000 feet with the tape measure to get an understanding of just how long Jefferson's garden was. Roger, Ollie and Kai measured in the first group and Archie, Zoe, Evelyn and Hudson measured in the second group. Mayla was the scribe for the first group.

The kids amended their bed with planting mix and Malibu Compost. I discussed the fact that we garden organically at Marquez and do not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

They then planted Brown Dutch Lettuce seeds. This is an actual variety that Jefferson himself planted 27 times back in the 19th century. (The second group from the class also discussed that the 1800s are in the 19th century).

Some of the children added material to the garden compost bin and others planted poppy seeds and watered.

Planting Brown Dutch Lettuce seeds