Today we had the pleasure of tasting our delicious melons which we have been growing over the summer. The children all tucked in as they were so juicy and tasty.
We had to work hard to clear out the bed of mint which had really spread wild so that we can start planting new things. This was tiring work as the roots had gone so deep but the children took it in their stride and got stuck in.
Well done gardeners
Mrs Elkins

It’s great to be back in the All Souls garden with some old and new faces and we still have the help of Giles, Jan and Stella.
Wow what a difference six weeks makes to our fruit and vegetables. The melons are growing beautifully as are the chilli’s, courgettes, tomatoes and cabbages. The sweetcorn hasn’t fared so well due to the birds and mice nibbling away at them. The children all came despite the heavy rain and got stuck in weeding, picking the tomatoes, collecting the bean pods and planting some parsnips seeds.
There is so much that needs planting and sorting so we have a very busy time ahead of us but im sure the children are very enthusiastic to learn and help out.

Well done children.
Mrs Elkins

Wow what a great end to the year with a bumper crop of potatoes. The children had so much fun digging up the two hundred and thirty potatoes that were in the raised beds!!

The children were all able to take some home for their dinner that night and give some to Mrs Quinn and Mr Cooke.
Thank you to all the children who have worked so hard over this last year and have shown fantastic commitment and great skill in keeping our garden and vegetables going.
I am looking forward to next year and seeing what new things we can plant.
A big thank you goes out to Giles, Jan, Stella and Miss Quinn for their hard work and commitment; we couldn’t do it without you.
Many thanks Mrs Elkins

This week the children were able to dig up the onions which had been planted in the raised beds. They then watered and tided up the beds ready for more planting next week. All the children were able to take home some white and red onions, yellow carrots and beans.
As a treat Jan (who is a very good cook) gave all the children some homemade fudge, which was delicious!! Thank you Jan.
Well done gardeners
Mrs Elkins, Giles, Jan, Stella and Miss Quinn

This week the children had lots of watering to do as it has been so hot and dry. Some of the plants have suffered as a consequence and are looking a bit sad.
This week Giles dug up the yellow carrots which the children had planted and every child had a taste if they wanted to try. Also the beans were ready to be picked so the children were able to try and take some home with them. Giles also let them take home a chilly plant to put on their window sill to grow.
The raised beds were weeded and the weeds were then given to the chickens for food.
Well done gardeners
Mrs Elkins, Giles, Stella and Jan

This week the children prepared the raised bed by digging it over and mixing in the compost and chicken waste. They then dug holes and filled with compost before planting out the sweetcorn plants.
The rest of the children were in the poly tunnel clearing out the massive cabbages to make way for the chilli plants. They did a great job as it was like an oven in there but they carried on regardless. The children were each given some cabbage to take home for dinner and some lovely mint which is growing rapidly.
Well done gardeners Mrs Elkins, Giles, Jan and Stella

This week we had quite a few new children start gardening club, it was great to see them and they were very enthusiastic to help and learn.
We started by planting up beans which had grown very quickly in the greenhouse. The children dug the holes and carefully planted each one. Some children watered the beds and plants in the poly tunnel.
After this we all went to the front of the school and tidied up the front boarders. There was lots of litter, weeds to dig up and growing saplings to pull out.
Great effort gardeners
Mrs Elkins, Giles, Jan and Stella

After a lovely Easter break and great weather the plants in our garden and raised beds have been growing at a fast rate. The children with the help from Giles dug out some red onions from the poly tunnel, but were a very peculiar shape.
All the beds and plants needed lots of watering as it had been so dry. Some of the children set to work on that, whilst the others started to plant two varieties of pumpkins and courgettes (At Mrs Quinn’s request).

Well done from Mrs Elkins and Giles

Last week our gardeners worked hard on planting potatoes into the raised beds. Every child dug out an area for the potatoes to be placed into with it shoots facing upwards. Giles came along and shovelled up some of the chicken poo and straw to use as a great fertilizer for the potatoes. Then the children set to work watering and digging up weeds along the pebble path.

This week the children set to work on the prayer garden by digging up weeds, picking up the litter and gathering the large branches and twigs from the wooded area.It was lovely to see our bulbs that we planted earlier on coming through and producing some lovely pretty flowers.

But it is with much sadness that we had to say goodbye to Angela who has been working so hard with the children every week guiding and sharing her knowledge of gardening. The children said a big thank you and made a beautiful card and gave her a gift to say a big thank you for all her help and time she gave to the children at All Souls. Angela was also very kind and gave each child a gift of a mint plant for them to take home and look after.

Thanks again to Angela for her hard work she will be greatly missed.