Mrs. Farrell’s and Ms Schwartz’s Classes Plant Herb Gardens

This month two 3rd grade classs planted herb gardens. Ms. Farrell’s class planted some seeds inside under grow lights and some outside in recycled coffee cans. Ms. Schwartz’s class planted seeds outside in coffee cans.

They planted camomile, dill, cilantro and chives outside; sweet basil, lime basil, spearmint and marjoram inside.

Ms. Schwartz’s herb garden

Mrs. Farrell’s herb garden

Seed starting

At Marquez we're starting seeds for our spring gardens.  Some classes are starting seeds inside and others are planting them outside.

Wherever you're planting, if you have seeds that supposedly expired a year or more ago, you can check the viability by the following test recommended by Gardening Know How, a sponsor of the Marquez Edible Garden:

"Are Old Seeds Still Good? Before planting with expired seed, there are some steps to take to check whether or not germination will be successful. When wondering, “will expired seeds grow,” gardeners can conduct a simple germination test. To test the viability from a seed packet, simply remove about ten seeds from the packet. Moisten a paper towel and place the seeds into it. Place the damp paper towel into a zip-lock bag. Leave the bag at room temperature for ten days. After ten days, check the germination of the seed. Germination rates of at least 50% indicate a moderately viable packet of seeds.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Will Expired Seeds Still Grow: Planting With Expired Seed Packets https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/seeds/will-expired-seeds-still-grow.htm"

2nd Graders Plant Seeds to Grow Indoors

Today Ms. Fein's class, Ms. Gardner's class and Ms. Connor's class planted seeds that they'll grow inside under grow lights. Seeds need water, warmth and air to germinate. They all need light once they germinate.

They planted tomatoes for their salsa gardens as well as seeds of several companion plants.  We discussed that companions are friends. The companions included lettuce, carrots and peas, The children learned that the seeds are planted twice as deep as they are big. The smaller seeds are barely covered.

In some classes the children placed a popsicle stick by the cells that each child planted in.

The children will check their seeds daily to see when they germinate.

Ms. Connor's 2nd Graders Plant in Their Bed

This week, Ms. Connor's 2nd graders planted seeds in their raised bed, composted in the worm bin and wrote about this in their journals.  They planted seeds of red lettuce. orange carrots and cosmic purple carrots. They also buried seeds from last year's cherry tomatoes to see if they'd germinate. 

They also added scraps of fruit and vegetables, egg shells and coffee ground to the worm bin and played with the worms.  The worms eat the food scraps which pass through their bodies and become worm compost. Eventually we'll add the worm compost to our garden beds. We use red wriggler worms in our worm bin. They added the branches of the old tomato plant to the larger compost bin.

 Composting is an easy and educational way to recycle food waste.   

We have two compost bins at Marquez. One is the worm bin for vermicomposting and the other is a green tumbler. While we put kitchen scraps in the worm bin, we can put green and brown garden waste as well in the tumbler.

Some books for kids about composting include Compost Stew, Kids Can Compost and Composting, Nature's Recyclers.

Ms. Farrell's Students Plant a Rainbow Garden

This week Ms. Farrell's 3rd graders continued planting in their raised garden bed. As the 3rd grade is studying "Eating a Rainbow", they planted seeds of different colored vegetables.

They planted heirloom Little Finger Carrots, Tom Thumb Lettuce, Touchstone Gold Beet, Red Salad Bowl Lettuce, and Valentine's Day Blend Radish.  The last three types were donated by High Mowing Organic Seeds.

The children learned about succession planting-that means planting seeds in succession (in this case 3-4 weeks) to ensure a longer harvest period. Some of the lettuce, eggplant and radishes that they'd planted in December have already germinated.

We'll be using some lesson ideas from Whole Kids Foundation to reinforce the concept of Eating a Rainbow.

Some cooking ideas: make a fruit kebab with different color vegetables or make a salad with different colors of vegetables.

Jessica Siegel from Gelson's Visits Marquez Charter School

This week Jessica Siegel, Gelson's registered nutritionist and dietician, made a kale and strawberry salad with 2nd graders in Mrs. Fein's class.  The children actively participated in making the salad.
All children received two pieces of kale which they tore into small pieces. They also cut the strawberries in quarters.  Several children eagerly cut the red onion and avocado into small pieces while others mixed the olive oil, lemon juice and soy sauce dressing.  After the avocado was added to the salad mixture, several children massaged the greens. Then the rest of the ingredients were added. We made four batches of the following recipe.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons lemon juice (juice from 1 juicy lemon)
1 teaspoons San-J tamari lite 50% less sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Napa Valley organic olive oil
1 bunch organic lacinato kale leaves, center ribs removed, leaves torn into bite-size pieces
1 small firm, but ripe organic avocado, diced in ½-inch pieces
12 medium organic strawberries, hulled and quartered
2 tablespoons minced red onion
optional- not included in the class lesson-1/2 cup Gelson’s Finest Chandler walnut halves and pieces


Directions:

In a small container with a lid, combine lemon juice, tamari, and olive oil. Let stand while you prepare the salad. You may not need all of the dressing
In a salad bowl, combine the kale and avocado. Use your hands to gently massage the avocado into the kale so that the leaves are lightly coated and the avocado pieces are still intact. Add in the strawberry pieces and onion. Shake dressing well and toss the necessary amount with the salad. Toss in walnut pieces and serve

The final product!

Massaging the kale and avocado

Chef CC Consalvo Makes Frittata with Mr. Jacob's 4th Grade Class

Yesterday, CC Consalvo taught the 4th graders how to make a vegetable frittata. We used organic vegetables and eggs donated by Gelson's.  CC is a personal holistic chef that lives in Pacific Palisades.

She explained that a frittata is an Italian item, like an open-faced omelet.

The children participated in all aspects of the meal preparation. First they cut the red and yellow peppers and broccoli into small pieces. These were added to the butter and olive oil in the electric skillet and cooked until soft. They also participated in wisking the eggs. (We used 2 dozen for this group of 30.) After the eggs were added to the skillet they were carefully pushed around. The egg mixture was cooked until it was lightly brown on the bottom and firm to the touch.

We attempt to make the cooking experience as sustainable as possible. We reuse IKEA plates and plastic knives and forks. We also compost the vegetable scraps and egg shells.

The children enjoyed eating the result! This is something that they can try at home.

Thanks to Natalia Becir, Maggie Powers and Nona for volunteering.