This just in from the PS Urban Gardeners:

There have been some exciting developments in the Primary School garden this term. The team of Grade 2 to Grade 5 gardeners (with a little help from their friends) have transformed the look and productivity of their small garden which is located close to the Exam Hall and the bus office.

2012 - We’ve come a long way from our original garden on East campus, but we knew we could do even better!

First the students cleared the plants from the old beds.  We had been growing marigolds, ginger and eggplants, but for the most part the soil in the beds had been washed away by the heavy rain which is a regular occurrence in tropical Singapore.  We knew that we needed a better system.  

We borrowed a few old bricks from Dover campus. And with the help of the Middle School Urban Gardeners and Shahril from Facilities (who came into school on his day off!) we built four new beds which could withstand the harsh climate of Singapore.

Next, we worked with Mr Erickson to mix the original soil with new soil and coconut husk. Andrew and Shaurya write: “Some of us had never made a bed. Mr Erickson helped Shaurya, Anni and Isabelle making the beds. It was a really fun process as we had to mix, add and mash.  It is very tiring as there are many layers. By the end of it, all of us were very tired, but in the end you do feel very happy.”

Meanwhile, other members of the gardening team were planting seeds in our seed tubes (raised up high to avoid attack from snails and ants) so that we would have seedlings ready to plant in our new beds.

Our final step was to plant out our precious seedlings into our brand new beds.  The plants look right at home and are growing well. We’re looking forward to our next harvest.

Shaurya and Andrew write:

“Gardening club is a very fun club that involves people who know gardening and some who don’t. I had no experience in gardening but in a few weeks I really started to feel like I was helping out.  Many people start to feel sad as they leave this amazing club. This is a club that I would probably choose every term. We asked Cesca (Grade 3) what she liked the best about gardening and she replied, ‘We all work as a team and nothing gets in our way. If there’s a problem like there’s ants biting us and snails are eating our plants, we work as a group to sort it.’ Many other people like planting and harvesting. We like Cesca's answer, "We all work as a team and nothing gets in our way!"  When we interviewed the Primary gardening team, all of the answers were linked to one thing, WE ALL LOVE GARDENING!!!!”

-Kath