Preparing the Garden for Spring

The CDS garden is showing signs of life! Mushrooms are starting to sprout, hinting at healthy fungal activity below the surface. The cover crop on the vegetable beds serves as a blanket to protect the soil and prepares the beds for planting in the spring. Peas, strawberries and annual violas dot the garden and are the first plants to greet us this year.

K-5 art teacher Mrs. Kate Osmond and her son, Sunny (2nd grade), recently layered leftover cardboard recycled from the school on the vegetable beds. Then they spread a few inches of compost on top. The compost, donated to the school by Angel Oak Nursery, is made from yard and kitchen waste. This method of gardening is called “no-dig” or “lasagna” gardening and helps preserve the bio-flora in the soil. The worms, insects, bacteria, and fungi in the soil contribute to healthier, heartier plants. Sometimes it’s what’s underneath the surface that matters!

The volunteer stewards of the garden, Mrs. Osmond and K-5 science teacher Kate Brundrett, have big plans to use the garden this spring as a living classroom for science, art and other subjects. They plan to add a composting system, a worm bin, rain barrels, and more host plants for butterflies, birds and bees.

Special thanks to McGill Premium Compost and Angel Oak Nursery for their donations.

• art
• garden
• science