On Monday, Ms. Yoshida's class celebrated Earth Day by planting seeds in biodegradable pots and having an organic snack. As last year, Whole Foods provided fruit and vegetable platters, seeds and organic potting soil. The children had their choice of fruit and vegetables. Next, they planted either radish, lettuce or kale seeds in pots which are made of peat moss and wood pulp and are 100% biodegradable.  The students were told to keep the soil moist and other directions will be sent home via their teachers. The children enjoyed looking at the worms and watering plants after they planted.
One of the students had the bright idea of collecting the water that overflowed from the drinking fountain and watering plants with it!

Using QR Codes to Learn about the Edible Garden

 
Salsa Garden
Hello! We planted a salsa garden at Marquez Charter Elementary School.
We planted onions, tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, and garlic.
We will make salsa next year in 3rd grade.
There are two types of salsa that we will be making, salsa verde and salsa rojo.
Verde is green in Spanish and rojo is red in Spanish.
There is another kind of salsa.
It is sweet and has fruit.
We love gardening with our garden teacher Miss Marie.

By Eleanor and Coco, 2nd grade students

Sticky Monkey Flower

Sticky Monkey Flower
Scientific name: mimulus aurantiacus


     The Sticky Monkey Flower is found mostly by the Californian coast and partially in the Sierra Nevada. Its name comes from the fact that the flower part resembles a monkey's face and it has a gluey substance exuding from it. It's wavy petals are red with yellow in the middle, yellow with white in the middle, cream colored, salmon pink, or brick red. It has long yellow and/or white pistils. It has a smooth stem with long slender dark green leaves and can grow from 6 to 48 inches. The Sticky Monkey Flower's stalks and leaves were eaten as salad, used as a salt substitute, and used to treat skin irritations, minor burns, and rope burns by the Tongva Indians. A root concoction was used for treating epilepsy, and a plant concoction was used as a wash to counteract poisons. The Sticky Monkey Flower is home to the Checkerspot and Buckeye butterfly's larva. They eat the flowers as food and the Checkerspot butterflies lay their eggs on them. Also, in the Spring, baby birds need protein, and so they eat the larva. The Sticky Monkey Flower usually blooms from January through May.

Report by Samantha, Grade

2nd Grade Earth Day Celebration with Whole Foods

Today was the second annual Earth Day celebration for the 2nd grade. As last year, Whole Foods provided fruit and vegetable platters, seeds and organic potting soil. Mrs. Fein's class, Mr. Jacobs' class, Ms. Connor's class and Ms. Abrams' class each visited the garden. The children had their choice of fruit and vegetables. Next, they planted either radish or kale seeds in peat pots which are made of peat moss and wood pulp and are 100% biodegradable.  The students were told to keep the soil moist and other directions will be sent home via their teachers. Thanks to Victoria Polakoff of Whole Foods Santa Monica and a former Palisadian, for her contributions!

Volunteer Laura S. waters seeds in biodegradable cups

Victoria from Whole Foods and Carolyn H. serve fruit and veggies from Whole Foods to the kids.

Ms. Abrams' Class Plants in the Salsa Garden

On April 22, Ms. Abrams' class learned about the ingredients in salsa and planted in the salsa garden. They planted cilantro seeds and onions to join the tomatoes and peppers that are already there.  We discussed that they will harvest the tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers and cilantro at the beginning of 3rd grade and make salsa from them.

Today they tasted chips with three types of salsa-salsa rojo, salsa rojo with peaches and mango and salsa verde. They learned that rojo means red in Spanish and verde means green. Several students already knew this! Salsa rojo was most popular!

Thanks to the 3rd grade Brownie troop

This week the 3rd grade Brownie troop replanted the butterfly garden. They planted milkweed, calibrachoa, penstemon and zinnias.  They join other butterfly and hummingbird loving plants in the garden such as parsley, chives, sage, rosemary and butterfly bush. Thank you, girls and their leader, Leah Herndon!

Ms. Connor's Class Plants in the Salsa Garden

Ms. Connor's class planted in the garden on April 20. Some students planted cilantro or onions in the salsa garden and others planted lettuce, basil or carrots, companion plants of tomatoes. Some plants that are companions of tomatoes include basil, asparagus, beans, carrots, celery, dill,
 lettuce, onions, melon, parsley, peppers, radishes, spinach and thyme. We discussed that companions are friends, that go along together!

The students ate salsa and chips. The three varieties of salsa were salsa rojo, salsa rojo with peaches and mangos and salsa verde. We discussed the meaning of rojo (red) and verde (green) in English.

Ms. Yoshida's Class Plants in the Salsa Garden

Ms. Yoshida's students planted in the salsa garden on April 20. Half of the class came at one time, which is how we split the class for small group classroom instruction.First we discussed the ingredients in salsa-they offered such names as tomato, onion, garlic, cilantro and pepper. I also showed them a lime. We're growing everything but lime in our garden. We also discussed what salsa rojo and salsa verde meant and that salsa means sauce in Spanish. The students wrote in their journals before planting.

We had three groups for planting-one with Ms. Marie, one with Ms. Carolyn and one with Laura, a parent. The children planted cilantro, carrots, lettuce, onions and basil. Carrots, lettuce, onions and basil are companion plants for tomatoes. We discussed that companions are friends or people or things that go along together. Other companion plants for tomatoes include asparagus, beans, celery, dill, melon, parsley, peppers, radishes, spinach and thyme.

After planting and watering the students tasted three varieties of salsa with tortilla chips-verde, plain rojo and rojo with peach and mango.

The children will make salsa with vegetables from the salsa garden in August when they return to school.

Using a QR code to learn about the Native American Garden

Visitors to the Native American Garden at the front of school will be able to use QR codes and their smartphones to learn about the plants starting Monday.

To learn about the plants, download the free Quick Scan-QR code reader app. Then point the QR icon at the black and white code by selected plants. It'll take you to the plant description listed on the Marquez Garden on the Marquez website.  Some 4th grade students are writing descriptions of the plants in the garden. You can check them out without the QR code by going to the Marquez Garden.

Soon we will have metal plant signs that include the QR codes.

As of today, descriptions are posted for black sage, hummingbird sage, California poppy, yarrow, purple sage and mugwort. Others will be posted soon. Thanks to Jacob DuBois and Michaela Carmichael for helping with the QR coding and posts.

Native American Garden Update

The Native American Garden will be dedicated on Thursday, May 7 at 8:45 am. In preparation for the dedication, some Marquez 4th graders are writing fact sheets about selected plants. These can be found on a link from the Marquez website: http://marquezcharter.org/about/learning/growing-ground-edible-garden/. We will be placing signs with QR codes by the plants so visitors can access the information about the plants on the website. So far there are write-ups about hummingbird sage and black sage.

Ms. Fein's Class Plants in the Salsa Garden

On April 15 Mrs. Fein's students finished planting in the Salsa Garden. During the lesson we discussed the ingredients in salsa-tomatoes, onions, cilantro, jalapeno peppers and garlic. We're growing all of these.  We also discussed the different types of salsa that we'd be tasting today with tortilla chips-salsa rojo, salsa verde and mango peach salsa. The children should know that salsa means sauce, rojo means red and verde means green. The children also watered the seeds and seedlings, planted some seeds in trays and checked out the worm bin.

When the children are in 3rd grade they'll make salsa with ingredients that we've planted.

Ms. Reeves' Class Plants a Three Sisters' Garden

On April 15, Ms. Reeves and her 3rd grade class planted in their Three Sisters' Garden as well as in the butterfly garden.  As Ms. Reeves said, most of the students had done projects on Native Americans that had such a garden with corn, beans and squash. They students planted multi-colored Earth Tones Dent Corn, Rattlesnake Beans to twine up the corn stalks and Sugar Pie Pumpkins to cover the ground. The students will make succotash from the corn and beans in August when they are in 4th grade. Thanks to Renee's Garden which donated these and other seeds to our school.

"Corn, beans and squash, The Three Sisters, were the principal crops of the Iroquois and other Native American groups in the northeastern United States, at the time Europeans arrived here about 1600. By this time, the Iroquois had been planting these three crops together for about 300 years. Corn and beans are not native to this area; they originated in tropical America where they were cultivated by early peoples, long before these crops were cultivated in the northeastern United States. Pumpkins and similar types of squash have a tropical origin, as well." Quote from the New York State Museum.

Ms. Schwartz's Class Plants a Three Sisters Garden

On April 10 Ms. Schwartz's 3rd graders planted a Three Sisters Garden. This garden ties into their study of the Navajo Indians. Many Native Americans planted a version of this garden using corn, beans and squash. These plants (sisters) work together: the beans grow up the corn and the squash covers the ground and keeps it cool. We planted the garden using seeds that were donated by Renee's Garden.In August the students will make and eat succotash with these vegetables.

"Corn, beans and squash, The Three Sisters, were the principal crops of the Iroquois and other Native American groups in the northeastern United States, at the time Europeans arrived here about 1600. By this time, the Iroquois had been planting these three crops together for about 300 years. Corn and beans are not native to this area; they originated in tropical America where they were cultivated by early peoples, long before these crops were cultivated in the northeastern United States. Pumpkins and similar types of squash have a tropical origin, as well."  Quote from the New York State Museum.

Ms. Conn's Class Plants in the Jeffersonian Garden

On Thursday, Ms. Conn's students planted heirloom tomato seedlings and pole bean seeds in the 5th grade garden.  The students learned to take off the bottom leaves of the tomato seedling before planting each so about 1/3 to 1/2 of the stem was under the soil. The small hairs on the stem and the places where the leaves were will become roots and the plant will be stronger.  We also fertilized the plants.

The bed has been squirrel-proofed with a wire and wood cover so hopefully the plants will prosper!

Mr. Jacobs' Class Plants in the Salsa Garden

On Thursday, April 9, we discussed the ingredients in salsa.  The students will grow most of the ingredients in the 2nd grade Salsa Garden. We have tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno peppers, onions and garlic in our garden.  Today the students planted pepper seeds.  The students will make salsa with the ingredients later in the year.

The students also checked on the worms in the compost bin. They are thriving! Several of the students planted seeds in the butterfly garden and also watered.

Ms. Bihari's Class Plants for Spring

Today Ms. Bihari's class planted in several areas around campus. They planted corn, beans and squash in their Three Sisters Garden, pumpkin seeds near their classroom and nasturtium seeds in the pollinator garden.

Many Native Americans planted these vegetables, including the Navajo, which this class is studying as part of third grade social studies.  They are called sisters because they help each other. The students planted rattlesnake beans, corn and zucchini. The beans will climb up the corn and the squash will shade the corn. At the beginning of fourth grade the children will eat succotash made with these vegetables.

The nasturtiums will attract hummingbirds and are in the pollinator garden.

fyi,  All the seeds that the children planted were donated by Renee's Garden.  The soil in the raised beds was donated by Kellogg's Garden Products and the seedlings were purchased with funds from the Western Growers Foundation grant.