AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. – Starting a school garden is not as far out of reach as some may think. Knowing how to secure funding, get started and maintain the garden are great things to consider but are not something to fear.
“I’ve been working in community and school gardens for more than 10 years,” said Carmen Flammini, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System home grounds regional agent. “One thing I can tell you is that you have to create a community to make a school garden successful.”
Flammini, who serves Baldwin, Butler, Conecuh and Escambia counties, said being successful means forming a team of teachers, parents and administrators to be the leaders of the school garden to help with support and organization. Having just one teacher or volunteer to manage a school garden is setting it up for failure.
Cultivate community
Flammini said it is imperative to build community support for the garden before thinking about where the garden is going to go.
“Gardens come with all kinds of considerations, but most importantly you have to plan within a school-year time frame,” she said. “I usually try to have the garden ready in September, but the planning starts before August.”
Flammini said as soon as the students come back to school, it is time to start thinking about planting. May and December are the months to plan for the garden. August and March are the prime times for planting the garden, depending on the requirements of fruits and vegetables. She also recommends accounting for the time when the students will be out of school for holidays, making sure volunteers are ready to water and maintain.
Securing funding
When starting a school garden, securing funding is key to getting a good start.
“Obtaining funding can be tricky, but finding partners to help you reach goals is important,” Flammini said. “There are so many schools that don’t have money to put in a school garden. But if you dig a little bit, you can find funding. If not, give Extension a call for help.”
Digging in
When it is time to put a shovel in the ground, think about the space and a water source. Flammini said in a school environment it is important to bring someone to the school grounds to help choose the best place to build the garden. This would be a good opportunity to bring in your local Extension agent to help choose the location for the garden.
“Decide if you need raised beds or if you can plant in the ground,” Flammini said. “We can also help you organize your planting season, which is huge.”
Water access is another important thing to consider. Access to a water source — in addition to rainwater — is really important.
“Water, water, water,” she said. “One thing to have is a hose. The other thing is to have the right irrigation system, which are two different things.”
When choosing material for a raised bed, Flammini always suggests wood. Her favorite raised-bed building material is cedar because it is rot resistant. She also recommends planning gardens so students with different accessibility needs can participate.
“Raised beds are good choice for students in wheelchairs, because then all of the students can work on the same level and participate in the same activities,” Flammini said. “Don’t forget to build in space for wheelchairs to be able to make turns and maneuver easily.”
Teaching tools
Flammini said there are many different things that you can teach through the use of a school garden. Incorporating vegetables, fruits, herbs, grasses and nectar plants will allow students to learn from and explore a wide variety of garden plants. Flammini suggests incorporating a sensory area of the garden where students can touch and smell plants without the fear of getting injured.
“Many teachers look at lesson plans and say, Where can I get this? but I want them to go backwards, look at the garden and say, What can I teach from this? ” Flammini said.
More information
Flammini shares more information on community and school gardens in a recent episode of the Alabama Extension podcast From the Ground Up. You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify or on the Alabama Extension website, www.aces.edu.
For assistance with a school garden in your community, contact Flammini at c.flammini@auburn.edu or the home grounds regional agent in your area by visiting www.aces.edu/directory.
