{"id":7436,"date":"2021-04-14T12:54:48","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T12:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/learningoutdoorssupportteam\/?page_id=7436"},"modified":"2022-01-29T14:23:38","modified_gmt":"2022-01-29T14:23:38","slug":"sustainable-food-growing-getting-started","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/learningoutdoorssupportteam\/sustainable-food-growing-getting-started\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable Food Growing – Getting Started"},"content":{"rendered":"

You need very little space or expertise to\u00a0 get started.\u00a0 Experiment with different containers.\u00a0 Anything can be used as a growing container so long as it allows excess water to drain out and you have enough space for the depth of compost needed for your crop – for example, potatoes need\u00a0 a lot, radishes very little!\u00a0 These suggestions from\u00a0The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) and East Ayrshire<\/a> Green Gym will help you find creative and low cost options for\u00a0 containers for growing \u00a0Make Your Own Planters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Crop Suggestions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grow potatoes<\/strong> in large pots or bags. Our Grow a Bag of Potatoes <\/a>shows you how.<\/p>\n

Possible MNU<\/strong> activities<\/strong> – keep a ‘potato diary’ marking significant dates on the calendar; weigh the seed potatoes and compare with the weight of the final crop; keep a record of the amount of water used; measure the height of plants at intervals.<\/p>\n

Possible Literacy<\/strong> activities<\/strong> –\u00a0 procedural writing; sensory based descriptions of the potatoes and the process of planting; a poem in praise of potatoes!<\/p>\n

Herbs<\/strong> grown in pots or tyres can form the basis of a herb garden in a sunny corner of your school grounds. Buy herbs in pots from supermarket and divide them to increase your crop. Watch our video Divide a Pot of Herbs and Make New Plants<\/a>\u00a0 or use the\u00a0 How to Divide Potted Herbs <\/a>sequence card from the RHS.<\/p>\n

Possible MNU activities <\/strong>– knowing how much the original plant cost to buy, calculate how much each new plant created cost.<\/p>\n

Possible Literacy activities<\/strong> include – have a herb tasting session and pupils to identify herbs solely from each others descriptions.<\/p>\n

Nasturtiums<\/strong> are colourful fast growing flowers that can be added and eaten in a salad.\u00a0 Nasturtium seeds are widely available and are easy to handle\u00a0 The Grow Nasturtiums from Seed\u00a0<\/a>video provides a demonstration.<\/p>\n

Possible MNU activities –\u00a0<\/strong>calculate the amount of compost required for each pot; put seeds into size order; measure, record and track progress of the plants as they grow.<\/p>\n

Possible Literacy activities<\/strong> include – write sowing and planting instructions for younger pupils; design a seed packet (front will need to be eye catching, the back will need to provide planting and care instructions).<\/p>\n

A wide range of salad crops<\/strong> can be grown and tasted.\u00a0 The RHS Salad Leaf Crop Sheet<\/a> is in the form of an Activity Sheet providing full instructions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What to Do with Food you Grow<\/strong><\/p>\n