HUNT ELEMENTARY GARDEN FIELD TRIP

Hunt Elementary School Garden
Field Trip October 1, 2009
Master Gardner Eileen Haden organized this wonderful field trip to the Hunt, TX. Elementary School Garden. Master Gardner Sandra Martin gave Brick Gibson and Trish Green representing the Boys and Girls Club in Bandera as well as Eileen, and Sidney and Debby Gibson representing The Bandera Community Garden, a tour and shared much information on their program which certifies fifty 4th and 5th graders as Junior Master Gardeners. This is a weekly class for these students, each having their own plot to care for. They have installed a 20,000 gallon water catchment system to water their garden and have a tall fence to keep the deer out.
Their raised beds are made of concrete blocks stacked 2 high with the lasagna method of soil in the beds providing the medium for their plants. The blocks create a bed no wider than four feet. Sandy recommend placing rebar and concrete inside the blocks to keep them in place. They can be as long as is desired.
The concrete block resource is: MG Building Materials in Kerrville
2202 Sidney Baker
830-257-2300
Another Source for Blocks is M&G in SA, Phone #210-995-0708
Double L Feed Store provides their Cotton Seed meal
They also use Row Cover, kept in galvanized garbage cans at the end of each row to have handy for any freezes. Sandy says it will protect the vegetables down to 5 degrees below zero.
They use cedar mulch between their beds, have a shed for storing their supplies, several wheel barrels, and a 14x16 foot green house that has recently been added.
The Method of Gardening used is called Lasagna Gardening
Here is HOW TO LAYER:
• Start by Overlapping and Stacking 20 sheets of wet newspaper
• Add 1 ½ inches of Turkey Mulch
• 3” of Barnyard litter
• 1 ½ inches of dry shredded newspaper-wet thoroughly after putting down
• Sprinkle Cotton Seed Meal over wet paper
• 3 inches of hardwood mulch
• 3 inches of soil mix
• Adding earthworms by digging down 6” every 4-6 feet will help aerate and fertilize soil