General Wolfe Elementary School Grounds Committee has had Green Street Boulevards, food gardens and indigenous species naturalized playspaces and outdoor landscaped classrooms. Whole Foods Whole Kids Foundation, Think & Eat Green and our own PAC have contributed to our activities. The Gardens have been part of Wolfe for 25 years and we need new parent volunteers to keep on growing.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Blanket for winter...
Cover crop roots keep the soil intact in the winter rains. They put nutrients back into the soil. And, they look good until its Spring planting season. Thanks to the Grade 3's who came and planted winter wheat, fall rye and crimson clover. Yellow flags mark where the different varieties were planted. Check it out at recess!
Friday, October 4, 2013
Autumn Rake & Prune party
Everyone welcome
Sunday October 6th
2-4pm
Time to put the garden to bed... Tidy up Wolfe's 11 Green Street Boulevards.
If you have them, bring Pruners, rakes, gloves. Wheel on over your leaf trimming/compost bins!
No green thumbs required, just enthusiasm for being outside and taking care of our gardens!
Kids encouraged to help... garden group members will be there too.
Generalwolfegardens@gmail.com
BTW new garden plans have been reviewed and will be presented at Tuesday October 8th PAC meeting. Exciting!
Monday, September 16, 2013
Whole Lot of Thanks!
Thank you Whole Foods Whole Kids Foundation!
This year's garden activities will be possible in part by a $2000 grant we applied for from Whole Foods. The focus is on growing local, organic food and teaching kids where their meals come from - the ground! Customers at Whole Foods for the past couple weeks have been making donations at the four Whole Foods throughout Vancouver to support these agricultural initiatives at many schools:
This year's garden activities will be possible in part by a $2000 grant we applied for from Whole Foods. The focus is on growing local, organic food and teaching kids where their meals come from - the ground! Customers at Whole Foods for the past couple weeks have been making donations at the four Whole Foods throughout Vancouver to support these agricultural initiatives at many schools:
Monday, September 2, 2013
Super Local Spud Salad
Welcome Back to School! Eat Wolfe-grown potatoes on Thursday!
We're going to dig up the potatoes that have been growing by the gym.
The Welcome Back BBQ is on Thursday evening, and we hope to have dug, washed, cut & cooked our very local potatoes to serve to everyone. These are potatoes from Wolfe gardens grown near the gym. In previous years, we usually plant a few different varieties to teach about biodiversity.
We're going to dig up the potatoes that have been growing by the gym.
The Welcome Back BBQ is on Thursday evening, and we hope to have dug, washed, cut & cooked our very local potatoes to serve to everyone. These are potatoes from Wolfe gardens grown near the gym. In previous years, we usually plant a few different varieties to teach about biodiversity.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Bee Friendly Main Street
Honey sticks, propolis, pollen, honey, frozen treats and more - all in the neighbourhood.
They have books, good photos, sample bee hive boxes and suits to look at.
If you keep your garden watered, the bees will get their nectar.
They have the HoneyBee Centre in Cloverdale, and are now just south of King Ed on Main Street.
BTW if you need wasp nests removed, Joe Wasp is your guy!
Saturday, July 27, 2013
5 Summer Watering Tips
For the Bees, please!
You can get a flower, but if it doesnt have enough water, there won't be enough nectar (the bee's food).
We owe 1 in 3 bites of food to a pollinator. So water your plants and feed the bees at the same time!
1. Water timing - in the early morning or the late evening - water will evaporate quicker in the daytime
2. Water thoroughly for a long time every few days - if you only do a light watering, it won't penetrate the soil. Roots will move to where the water is and you want deep root growth so the plant can survive drought conditions. Not sure? stick your finger in or dig down 4 inches to see if anything has gotten wet.
3. Good Soil Soil - Keep your soil full of organic matter that helps absorb and slow release moisture. Sandy soil drains quicker and won't retain water so more frequent watering would be needed. Adding compost annually helps.
4. Mulch - if you can't get to every area - use bark mulch, wood chips, even cardboard to help keep moisture in. Bonus: less weeding.
5. Build irrigation dams. If soil is super dry, water will just run off or away from your plant. Build little moats to keep the water in a specific area, even around one plant. Be patient as your water ssslowly finds a way to get absorbed by those ultra dry particles!
Household tip: Containers and raised beds dry out quicker than in-ground plants. Move containers if you are going away to shady spots that are less stressful. We are near setting a record for longest days of sunlight and the least amount of rain. It's a good thing we have those West Coast mountains and reservoirs full of H20 (as opposed to a desert ecosystem where the water is way way way underground!)
Thanks to the Wolfe Watering crew - keeping our gardens alive in the heat!
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Summer Watering
Hi all,
Our easy breezy schedule of summer watering has begun.
No green thumb required!
If you want to help out, please email generalwolfegardens@gmail.com
We all do a little, and everything will keep growing until the students are in their new grades.
Happy Summer Everyone!
Our easy breezy schedule of summer watering has begun.
No green thumb required!
If you want to help out, please email generalwolfegardens@gmail.com
We all do a little, and everything will keep growing until the students are in their new grades.
Happy Summer Everyone!
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