What a wonderful project! It sounds like you have a good start on it!

I would urge you to try a packet of seeds, Swiss chard 'Bright Lights' in their garden. It grows fast, gets big, and is flashy! I love the stems of bright yellow, dark red, celery, and hot pink! I grow it in my vegetable garden and my flower gardens every year.

One bonus is that the colors are there from germination. Even very small seedlings are red, yellow, green and hot pink. The color gets brighter as it grows.

Oh, yes, it is a beautiful plant too. LOL

Best of luck on this project.

Janie

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:649130}}

I suggested seeds, but he isn't too keen on that. In the fall I plan to discuss wintersowing IF he gets the next grant. If not, we can still keep the garden going really cheep using seeds. I even considered buying a few packs of gloriosa daisy from the dollar store. Give them all a few pinches and tell them to sow them direct. They should sprout in the coming weeks.

I like that chard a lot. Maybe I need to get some for my garden.

This sounds like a great oppurtunity for you and the kids! Have you thought about planting any edibles? or herbs? I am really excited to hear how this project goes.

Harriet

That is such a COOL project! Have fun with it!
There's something really soothing and healing about digging in the dirt -- I'm sure it will help the kids a lot.

Have they thought about mulch?
If not, the kids may be learning much more about the difference between weeds/wants this summer than was planned.
Quick growing ornamental veg would be an awesome idea, like medusa peppers.
If they could get a trellis in there somewhere, even birdhouse gourds would probably be something fast growing and fascinating for them, as well as the crafts they could do with them afterwards. Heck, kids are usually intrigued by any gourd that's funky-looking. No money for trellis - stick some cheap bamboo poles or long sticks they collect in the centers of the circles and grow something quick-climbing. (lots of cheap seed available for those type plants)
:)
Some weird things, like purple beans, are fast producers and edible is a huge bonus - kids will eat strange things they've grown before they'll touch it boughten.
You have an exciting plethora of choices and directions here! Have fun, take pics.

I agree that the miracle of seeds sprouting might perk their imaginations!! Maybe you can push it a bit. I was also thinking about fragrance. Those royal purple petunias have a great, pervasive fragrance. Also, the purple alyssum. Good luck, what a great project for the kids, and for you!!

Nancy.

Tom ~ What a great experience for you and for the kids. I look forward to hearing more about it and seeing pictures as well. It will be fun for all of you.

FlowerLady

Sounds Great !! I would suggest that each student keep a garden journal. Not only will they be able to refer back to their notes for what succeeds and what doesn't, they will be amazed at the progress they make in a short period of time. Be sure and have them take pictures along the way! (starting now with just dirt and the path)
At some point, they might be able to raise some of their own funds selling birdhouses, stepping stones, etc.
What a great project!!
BBH

That sounds like a really cool project, but I have to wonder who is going to take care of it during the summer?

Also, how old are these kids?

I will say I'm also surprised they don't want to do seeds - my kids love watching seeds sprout and grow! Though I suppose they are running out of time if they want to do them inside.

Too bad they aren't doing a little food plot too. That would be a valuable life lesson. Bull's Blood beets are beautiful as well as edible, swiss chard as mentioned, maybe a beautiful Sun Gold cherry tomato that is sweet as sugar....I could go on and on. No sprays so they could eat one in the garden as they worked (tomatoes, that is).

That is amazing Tom! Such a great worth while project! I saw a school that did something similar on tv a few weeks ago. They also had a chicken coop where they kept chickens for the eggs.

Plants will teach them about plant cycles and even about plant classification (annual, perennial, family, genus, species, lantin names etc.). They would learn about patience and responcibility. You could also have someone come in to talk about organic gardening and the enviroment.
I agree that seed starting would teach them a lot. They could learn about monocots and dicots and how seeds grow. Once they grow plants they could harvest the seed for next year AND to trade! Seed trades like we do here on GW.
Starting a compost pile would also be neat. They would learn about decomposition and recycling organic matter.

There is so much the kids could learn from this besides gardening! I love the idea of veggies! They will love to see where thier food comes from. Maybe it would promote better eating habits. You could even have a local chef come in to teach them how to cook the things they have grown!
And if you do some veggies you could also set up a little stand and sell the extras edibles! I like the crafts idea too! They could sell outdoor ornaments and learn woodworking skills making trellis and such. They could sell them and the veggies to raise money. That would teach them about buisness and money management.
I also have to wonder about vacation time...who will take care of the garden? Could you maybe still open it a few times a week for any kids that have nothing to do and are willing to do summer work?

Tom this project is wonderful. I wish you all the luck in the world!
PS. Please show us pics once it is up and running!
CMK

Token, I have been wondering if you scored that job or not, now we know! Congratulations!!

Most folks are aware of Boystown, NE which used to be on the outskirts of Omaha but is now a part of Omaha, the city has grown so large. It's a large farm within the city that was established for homeless boys many years ago. Today with societal changes it is now home for boys and girls of all ages and many of the kids are border line juvenile delinquents. Their program is very well known and several other states are starting their own adaptations of the Boystown program because of it's success rate. If you haven't heard of the place, I know you've heard of the song... "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", which was a famous saying that one of the first children taken in said to the priest that started the farm for boys.

One of my sisters (raised in Omaha, coincidentally) is the horticultural instructor for FL state's program. Their program is for boys only. All day long she works in the gardens and teaches kids everything there is to know about gardening and growing on a small scale, hands on and then they go on to learn how to do it at a farming level. She says she has to pinch herself to remind herself that this is not a dream, that she actually gets to do this everyday and get paid for it. She's been at it about 14 years now I think and she said that some of her first students often come back when they're on vacation or home on leave from the services, and they just come back and spend a day or two with her in the garden talking to the kids she's working with and telling them about all the things that the program has lead them to in life to make them successful. Pretty amazing that something so close to all of our roots can make inner city kids come full circle huh?

What a great opportunity, Tom, I wish you the best with it. I say don't pressure the guy in charge since he's just a beginner to. You'll have to teach him as you go as well as the kids and he'll catch the bug too. Next year, he'll likely be dying to try seeds. Best wishes!

MeMo

Thanks all. I've taken a lot of your suggestion to paper and will discuss with the teacher. I would love to grow some edibles, but no one will be at the school over the summer to water and tend. Yes, they will be seeing lots of weeds this year, but we're putting down newspaper under the leaf mulch. His goal is to get the garden started and continue it each year with his new students. I hope in the fall to have them plant traditional southern vegetables for the cooler months.

MeMo, I have not "officially" received the job. I trained for it all week, but due to policy issues, they haven't been able to give it to me outright. I think they were just trying to be sure that she was leaving and not changing her mind to stay. It's a leave of absence, but they will not guarantee her the same job on her return. I should know next week for sure.

Purchase orders will be the death of me. If I do get it, I'll be responsible for every plant that comes into our garden center, ordering, selling, and disposing of them if they've passed their prime. Lots of cheap plants this summer. LOL!

I also wanted to add that, once the kids get used to gardening, you could hold yearly plant sales. They could sell annuals, perennials, shrubs, veggie plants, and even trees they have started by by seed or cuttings. Planters and hanging baskets would also be neat to sell. That would likely raise a good deal of money for the school garden.
CMK

If it goes that long, I would like to make that suggestion. The perennials can be divided, collected seed can be sold or plants from seed can be sold. And there's always the leaf raking in the fall. I want to try to convince a few of them to help me in the garden here this year with payment in veggies and free plants for their garden. I just hope I have time now to spend in my garden.

Sounds like a really wonderful opportunity for the kids. They will love the hands on aspects of working on the project. I didn't see anything about the age of the children?? There are some terrific ideas in the posts here. Hope you will have fun with this and enjoy working with the kids. They are very lucky to be able to benefit from your knowledge and talent.

Pre high school kids. I think the oldest one is 15. Most of them are in their early teens for sure.