the Fruit & vegetable garden

As part of the St. Aidan's Science College programme, a vegetable garden was established in Autumn 2004. As part of the preparation process the ground was doulbe dug adding only organic fertiliser. Four separate beds were created and in the first year root crops, legumes, potatoes and brassicas were grown.

In March 2007 work started on extending the vegetable garden, adding six beds to the plot to enable a more varied range of crops to be grown; one bed is entirely dedicated to the growth of fruit bushes.

For any school contemplating establishing such a garden an important consideration is the time which needs to be devoted to the project. Naturally this is a seasonal activity therefore a flexible approach to the role is essential.

Kathryn keeps a diary of activity in the garden over a twelve month period:

November 2007	Sowed green manure in 2 beds Took out remaining courgette plants Picked first leaves off winter lettuce Picking Autumn raspberries Still picking broccoli
December 2007	Turned compost Spread ready compost on raised beds
January 2008	Dug in fertiliser Cut green manure crop ready to dig in, in a few weeks Pruned fruit bushes, weeded and dug in fertiliser Picked leeks, Brussels sprouts and lettuce
February 2008	February is the exciting time of year with the garden plan decided and seeds ordered, sowing can commence. This month saw salad leaves and dwarf French beans sown. Potato seeds were bought from Joe Maden and I used one of his tips to get ahead with potatoes and put half of them into pots of soil and the other half to chit in the normal way. I took the opportunity of a dry afternoon to turn the compost and used some of the ready compost to raise the soil level in one of the beds
March 2008	March sees seed sowing start in earnest and calabrese, peas, leeks, lettuce, beans, calendula and sun flowers sown. Unfortunately the strong winds blew one of the greenhouses over and the beans were destroyed and lettuce seedlings had to be repotted. In the garden I planted out two rows of lettuce under a newly acquired cloche. I used the old cloche to warm the soil in an area where I plan to sow carrots in a few weeks time. At the end of the month I planted the potatoes and noticed those I had chitted in pots were already rooting and should be up earlier
April 2008	April is a busy month for sowing seeds, potting on and hardening off seeds. The purchase of a cloche has enabled me to plant out three rows of lettuce seedlings. They are protected from the elements by the cloche and from the slugs by porridge oats. I had used the oats to protect some newly planted delphiniums but they attracted the pigeons so have tried used coffee granules (acquired from Starbucks!) and they are proving fairly successful. All courgette seeds have germinated so should be able to plant out over 20 plants. The courgettes grew well last year and were used in the Chef's ratatouille. I sowed some beetroot this month, but felt it has been too cold and wet to sow carrots
May 2008	At last with the improvement in the weather I was able to sow 4 rows of carrots. I covered the soil straight away with enviromesh to protect from carrot fly. The lettuce is growing very well under the cloche, in fact the first batch of lettuce leaves, together with some chives and rhubarb went into the kitchen this week. I am now hardening off peas, beans, leeks and broccoli seedlings. It's my aim to have them all planted out before the Spring Bank Holiday. The potatoes are just poking through so I am earthing the soil up over them to protect the developing tubers from any late frosts. I have turned the compost again and took out a lot of woody material (mainly Brussels sprout stalks) that are not going to break down. Put up canes ready for planting pea seedlings. I decided not to use the pea nets bought last year as previously it had been a 3 man job but after storage for a year it looked more like a 6 man job!! Instead I used canes and string. Planted out peas and more lettuce and broccoli seedlings. Prepared the bed for planning courgettes by digging a hole, filling with manure and then drawing back to a mound. Planted out climbing French beans. Earthed up potatoes and continued to pick lettuce. Planted out courgettes and pumpkins
June 2008	Sowed more lettuce, planted out celeriac and leeks. The broccoli, despite trying to protect it from birds and slugs, has been entirely destroyed. Everything else is growing well with little need for watering
August 2008	There have to be some plus points to the wet weather! The main one being I haven't watered the plot since the end of June! The celery and celeriac have flourished well in the wet conditions. The peas, however, developed a powdery mildew before the bulk of them had had chance to ripen. Harvesting the potatoes has been difficult in the constant rain. Early in August the first signs of potato blight were spotted, so I cut off all the greenery to stop the disease spreading to the tubers and disposed of it away from the composter. Two weeks later I started to harvest. As the soil was so wet the potatoes were heavily covered in soil and with few sunny days it has been difficult to dry them. Once dried any damaged ones were disposed of. Remaining potatoes are stored in linen sacks ready for the Chef's return. Also stored in the shed waiting for school to start are a healthy crop of red and white onions and garlic. Over the Summer I have regularly picked courgettes, beans and sweet peas. It has been noticeable this year that the sweet peas have remained bug free. I have been able to start off spinach, rocket, winter cabbage and winter salad to plant out in September.
September 2008	This month I have tried to raise the soil level in one bed by adding compost made in the bins. I have also sown a green manure crop in 2 beds. This helps to protect bare soil over the winter months and when dug in, in the Spring it will add nutrients and improve soil structure. I will weed all the beds and generally tidy up before winter comes. I shall be adding some organic manure to the beds where the potatoes will grow next year.
October 2008	I planted out the spinach and rocket at the start of the month and this week will pick leaves from them. They are now growing protected by fleece or a cloche. I have continued to pick broccoli, courgettes and raspberries this month. I am also really pleased with the 5 pumpkins which grew to a very impressive size before I harvested them and they generated a lot of interest amongst the pupils. The spinach and winter rocket have grown well and I am picking leaves from these two crops. The green manure crop has nicely covered the bed where the legumes will be sown next year. I have added organic fertiliser to the beds where the potatoes will be grown. October is the month to study the seed catalogues and plan. I have decided to try growing swede for the first time.

Seeds supplied by Suffolk Herbs and the Organic Gardening Catalogue. Top soil, compost, sundries etc. bought from Brookside Nurseries, Leeds Road. Plug plants bought from Joe Maden in Huby. Enviromesh and cloche from Harrod Horticulture

The aim of the organic vegetable programme is to:

raise the awareness of our students of the importance of fresh organic produce through science education
raise awareness of organic farming
be involved with the student Gardening Club organise a series of vegetable tasting sessions contribute to the fruit and vegetables used in the kitchen
If anyone is interested in helping with this project, please contact Mr Hatcher via the Main School Office