The school garden outside has been put to bed and the holidays are fast approaching. What should you be doing now at the end of the season to get ready for next year? Here are our two Monthly School Garden Checklists to help you get started! Each month provides a checklist for planning and tasks needed to be done on a seasonal basis for success in a school garden.
November in the Garden
- Cover crops in your greenhouse with fabric on cold nights.
- Winter seed spinach and mulch for a spring crop.
- Compost plant waste from your garden.
- Add carbonaceous raked leaves and pine needles to the pile.
- Mulch garlic, flower bulbs, divided perennials, raised beds and bare soil.
- Take soil samples before ground freezes to submit for testing in January at a discount cost
- Drain and store rain barrels.
- Bring in garden hoses, sprinklers, fragile garden decorations, tools, and supplies.
- Wash and dry tools, seed starting materials, and pots. Store inside.
- Speak with your custodians and facilities staff now if you have areas of the garden that you would like to have access to or have protected over the winter.
- Fruit trees require some protection over the winter. Remove weeds from around the base of the tree and cover the cleared area with mulch, but don’t let it rest against the trunk. Wrap hardware cloth three feet high around the base of the tree to prevent rodent damage.
December in the Garden
- Do a final check that all end of season garden tasks have been completed.
- Continue watering and care of veggies growing in your hoop or greenhouse.
- Cover plants at night with row covers when temperatures are around or below freezing.
- Arrange to have someone clear snow from paths to a greenhouse, cold frame boxes, a compost bin, or other areas that require access.
- Consider trying vermiculture (worm composting) in your classroom.
- Cook with students. Make a carrot‐apple salad or apple stuffed squash.
- Take time to clean and sharpen your tools.
- Protect young fruit trees by wrapping them with hardware cloth.
- Take year end notes on the garden. Reflect on what went well and what needs to be different next year.
- Do you want to stick with that heat resistant lettuce variety?
- Did you plant your broccoli too close together?
- Write it down before you forget!
- Start planning for the year ahead.
- How will you rotate your crops?
- What new tools do you need?
- Start dreaming!
