Second Week

This past week was the beginning of the real work for the gardening project. We planted box after box with varieties of tomatoes, onions, radishes, collards and watermelons. Although it was tedious work, it was the most important because each plant had to be under certain conditions in order to ensure proper growth. For example, the collards, which were planted in one of our raised beds, only needed to be lightly covered by soil and misted with water whereas the radishes, which were planted in Earth Boxes, had to be planted deeper and given more direct watering. This week was crucial because the success of our garden depended on how closely we adhered to the various planting guidelines for the plants. Due to rain we stayed inside for a day where we watched an episode of the Magic School Bus, an educational children's show. Although it was childish, this episode, in particular, was informative because it explained the life cycle of plants and the germination process. Later on in the week, we visited Phillips Academy in Newark, a kindergarten to eighth grade school which was built as a "green" school. The building was rebuilt from an old factory, recycling the original frame, using energy harnessed by solar panels and a rooftop garden. This school was very interesting because of how well the building was designed in order to support and integrate their garden into the school and also the implementation of its lunch program which provides, healthy, wholesome, in-house food made from fresh ingredients. This was a different and shockingly plausible model for providing meals for a large student population.