Creating a working school or community garden
By Catlin Smith |
April 25, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HAVING a natural place where you can literally "dig in" to the earth can be grounding, relaxing and rejuvenating. Creating a garden is great medicine for the soul and is a wonderful way to connect with your natural environment. For children - or anyone - living in an urban metropolis like Shanghai, finding a way to "get back to the soil" can be a breath of fresh air.
Here are a few tips for making even a small urban space into a function school or community garden:
? Space
Not much space is needed to make a thriving garden. You can start planting seeds indoors in early spring. Use recycled materials, such as plastic trays (the kind vegetables are often sold in), add some soil, plant and keep them in direct sunlight with lots of water. If you use paper-based egg cartons, you can start sprouts indoors and then literally plant the entire egg carton in the ground. This is a good tactic for plants that have delicate shoots and root systems that may be tricky to transplant.
If you don't have an outdoor space for a garden, you can plant in window boxes. Wooden window boxes can be purchased at plant shops on Shaanxi Road S. just south of Fuxing Road.
? Soil
Because we are in a river delta, much of the soil in Shanghai is clay. For many plants, clay is very difficult to grow in. It is dense and heavy, which makes it tough for many plants to push roots down and sprout up. Here are a few tips for planting in clay:
1. Give plants a head start by starting them indoors.
2. Till the soil. Loosen the earth with a spade or fork and take out rocks. Add as much compost or other rich soil as possible.
3. Dig a hole about 5 centimeters wide and 10 centimeters deep. Add a little gardening soil (purchased from a plant store) or soil from a compost pit (if you want your garden to be organic, this is the way to go). Plant seeds or plant starts in the rich soil.
4. Add worms to your soil.
? Compost
Start a compost pit! This is a great way to create your own healthy soil. Believe it or not, you can order worms for a compost pit (and to add to your garden in general) on Taobao. I ordered 2,000 worms for around 100 yuan (US$16) including delivery.
There are lots of techniques for creating compost pits. I tried making a compost pit by digging a hole in the corner of the garden and adding layers of vegetable waste, torn cardboard and worms. You can find details for this kind of pit at http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/solwaste/compost.htm. As the vegetable waste turns to soil, add it throughout the garden.
I also ordered bricks on Taobao for a very low price and they were delivered by a big dump truck in the middle of a huge rainstorm. These bricks now form the path winding through the garden, giving children a place to walk and creating a feeling of an established place.
? Seeds and Plants
Considering that much of the soil in Shanghai is dense clay, here are suggestions for clay-loving plants:
The top two plants recommended by most gardeners for clay soil are mint and sage. Both can be purchased already potted at city plant shops.
Beans are another option. You can use a large variety of beans (even regular beans from the grocery store) such as green beans, broad beans and fava beans. Start off with dried beans. You can start the seeds in either a tray in a window ledge, as mentioned above, or between two wet paper towels. Getting your seeds sprouted before planting them in the clay soil will give them a better chance at survival.
Lettuce, bok choy, broccoli, kale, chard and other leafy greens are also recommended. I've had great luck with broccoli and chard in particular, while radishes have also done well. You can also try plants that have short roots, such as spring onions.
? Community
This is the most important ingredient for a garden. Some of the best advice I've received for gardening in Shanghai has come from people who have moved to the city from the countryside and work in my community. Ask colleagues if they know much about gardening. Where are the cooks in your work canteen or school kitchen from? There is a good chance that they will have some useful knowledge to share.
Let community be the focus of your garden. Children can feel a sense of ownership for the garden and a feeling of pride and accomplishment in seeing their plants grow. A garden is a fertile ground for personal well-being and collaboration. Let a garden connect children with nature and their community.
(Catlin Smith is Roots and Shoots coordinator of Shanghai United International School's
Shang Yin campus.)
Here are a few tips for making even a small urban space into a function school or community garden:
? Space
Not much space is needed to make a thriving garden. You can start planting seeds indoors in early spring. Use recycled materials, such as plastic trays (the kind vegetables are often sold in), add some soil, plant and keep them in direct sunlight with lots of water. If you use paper-based egg cartons, you can start sprouts indoors and then literally plant the entire egg carton in the ground. This is a good tactic for plants that have delicate shoots and root systems that may be tricky to transplant.
If you don't have an outdoor space for a garden, you can plant in window boxes. Wooden window boxes can be purchased at plant shops on Shaanxi Road S. just south of Fuxing Road.
? Soil
Because we are in a river delta, much of the soil in Shanghai is clay. For many plants, clay is very difficult to grow in. It is dense and heavy, which makes it tough for many plants to push roots down and sprout up. Here are a few tips for planting in clay:
1. Give plants a head start by starting them indoors.
2. Till the soil. Loosen the earth with a spade or fork and take out rocks. Add as much compost or other rich soil as possible.
3. Dig a hole about 5 centimeters wide and 10 centimeters deep. Add a little gardening soil (purchased from a plant store) or soil from a compost pit (if you want your garden to be organic, this is the way to go). Plant seeds or plant starts in the rich soil.
4. Add worms to your soil.
? Compost
Start a compost pit! This is a great way to create your own healthy soil. Believe it or not, you can order worms for a compost pit (and to add to your garden in general) on Taobao. I ordered 2,000 worms for around 100 yuan (US$16) including delivery.
There are lots of techniques for creating compost pits. I tried making a compost pit by digging a hole in the corner of the garden and adding layers of vegetable waste, torn cardboard and worms. You can find details for this kind of pit at http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/solwaste/compost.htm. As the vegetable waste turns to soil, add it throughout the garden.
I also ordered bricks on Taobao for a very low price and they were delivered by a big dump truck in the middle of a huge rainstorm. These bricks now form the path winding through the garden, giving children a place to walk and creating a feeling of an established place.
? Seeds and Plants
Considering that much of the soil in Shanghai is dense clay, here are suggestions for clay-loving plants:
The top two plants recommended by most gardeners for clay soil are mint and sage. Both can be purchased already potted at city plant shops.
Beans are another option. You can use a large variety of beans (even regular beans from the grocery store) such as green beans, broad beans and fava beans. Start off with dried beans. You can start the seeds in either a tray in a window ledge, as mentioned above, or between two wet paper towels. Getting your seeds sprouted before planting them in the clay soil will give them a better chance at survival.
Lettuce, bok choy, broccoli, kale, chard and other leafy greens are also recommended. I've had great luck with broccoli and chard in particular, while radishes have also done well. You can also try plants that have short roots, such as spring onions.
? Community
This is the most important ingredient for a garden. Some of the best advice I've received for gardening in Shanghai has come from people who have moved to the city from the countryside and work in my community. Ask colleagues if they know much about gardening. Where are the cooks in your work canteen or school kitchen from? There is a good chance that they will have some useful knowledge to share.
Let community be the focus of your garden. Children can feel a sense of ownership for the garden and a feeling of pride and accomplishment in seeing their plants grow. A garden is a fertile ground for personal well-being and collaboration. Let a garden connect children with nature and their community.
(Catlin Smith is Roots and Shoots coordinator of Shanghai United International School's
Shang Yin campus.)
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