Ideas for student run school Greenhouse?

[jc12551]

I have a group of remedial students this coming semester that I want to get involved in growing veggies in the greenhouse. Any suggestions for plants? I was thinking lettuce and radishes to start. Plus some flowers.

These are high school age students.

 

[Txchikngardners]

For flowers, how about sunflowers and marigolds - you could harvest the seeds for the next crop of students.

For veggies, cherry tomatoes -fast growers so they can munch on the 'fruits' of their labor.

 

[jc12551]

Txchikngardners-marigolds are a good suggestion. Could we do sunflowers in a greenhouse? Cherry tomatoes are great too. Thank you for your suggestions.

 

[Reinbeau]

Sure, you could grow the dwarf sunflowers in containers, they make nice pot plants (in large enough containers).

 

[digitS']

Will you be growing in the ground or in containers, JC?

These new Beit Alpha cucumbers (& there's quite a few varieties) might be a good choice.

Steve
:tools

 

[jc12551]

This would be all containers. We are trying to rehab an unused greenhouse and get it productive again.

 

[patandchickens]

What are the temperatures in the greenhouse like at night? That will determine what you can/can't grow.

In addition to veggies you might consider some popular easy annual flowers, they could either sell 'em at the end of the year or just take 'em home.


Pat

 

[jc12551]

It has been a very warm winter here, I have not been keeping track of temps in the greenhouse so far, but I can start that on Monday. Some flowers would be good too.

I wonder if the students should do this communally or have their own plots. I am thinking plots. These are students who can't pass 9th grade and their work ethic is low. That way I could hold them reasonably accountable for their work. They could also take great pride if they grew the best/biggest. I could make a contest. I dunno. I have a week to decide what to do.

My remedial class this semester dug a pond near the greenhouse.

 

[patandchickens]

It has been a very warm winter here, I have not been keeping track of temps in the greenhouse so far, but I can start that on Monday.

Yeah, that is an awfully good ithing to check in advance, because some things will thrive on near-freezing or cool temps overnight, as are likely to happen in an unheated or erratically heated greenhouse, while other things will get quite disappointingly kilt.

I am thinking plots. These are students who can't pass 9th grade and their work ethic is low. That way I could hold them reasonably accountable for their work. They could also take great pride if they grew the best/biggest. I could make a contest. I dunno. I have a week to decide what to do.

I wonder whether a contest would be a turn-off for those who already think they can't do it, or who early on in the semester discover that their plants aren't turning out as well as others'?

Maybe have them each grow their own, but each grow *different* kinds of plants, so that you can hold each kid directly accountable but their results are not directly comparable in a mine-is-better way? I dunno, just a thought.

What kind of time frame are you working in... is there any chance of growing enough variety of salad and pizza-topping veggies/herbs that they could be working towards a largely self-raised lunch at the end of the year? Lettuces in variety, basil, other herbs, a quick greenhouse tomato, what else... It would take at least 4 months, probably more, to do that though, so may not be feasible...

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Mothergoat]

I teach students with moderate/severe disabilities at the high school level and we grow tomato starts and snap peas, and strawberries in the spring. We are about zone 8. They really enjoy eating the peas and strawberries, and we sell the tomato plants and go on an outing to a wave pool/water park. We don't have a competition, we just enjoy working together. The more capable students feel pretty good about helping and teaching the others. For once, they can be the Experts. The ones receiving the help from their peers seem to like the attention.

School is out in the second week of June and we have to have the greenhouse cleaned up by then so we concentrate on early producing plants/crops. We have a very small summer program so we only have a small patch of summer vegetables.

Good luck to you, sounds like you are a great teacher.
Linda