newbie teacher needs help!

[red1984]

hi everyone.
i'm (obviously) new to this site and to gardening. i've got myself into a bit of a pickle in that i've said that i'd develop my school's garden during the summer term with my year 6 class (10year olds), but it's gradually dawning on me how little i know

just wondering if any one has any advice about what we could grow in 5 weeks. it would be nice for the children to see, or be able to eat, their hard work! thinking of maybe tomatoes and runner beans, but i got a bit stuck after that.

any advice would be much apreciated! many thanks

[janeyo]

Hi, I am no expert but would think you could grow sunflowers, annual seed flowers, lettuces (at least to the point where they look like lettuces!) and quick growing stuff. Strawberries too.

Also you can get plug plants which are already established plants, (flowers and veg) but small, to plant out and grow on. At least they would see some changes in the plants from these in 5 weeks.

My son's sunflowers and flower seeds sprouted in a week, in a warm spot. If you got them all to bring in a pot to put their own seed or plug plant in then in 5 weeks they can take their own one home to finish them off.

Hope this helps!

janeyo

[Waffler]

I'm doing some growing with my mixed reception/year 1 class. Don't know about you, but ours will all be in containers. So far we've planted potatoes (doing an experiment to see which grows best: proper shop-bought seed potatoes or the potatoes I bought and didn't need for Christmas, which have sprouted big time!) and from next week will be sowing beans, courgettes, carrots (the mini finger variety), lettuce, radish (3-6 weeks from sowing to harvesting), sunflowers and nasturtiums. Once my tomato plants are under way and hardened off, I shall bring in a couple of those for us to pot on and watch develop.

Hope this helps. Good luck!