Our fourth graders have been great at planting sunflowers in their Spanish class with Sra. Melara. Last year they grew so tall!
And so BIG!
We never knew there we so many different kinds of sunflowers before Sra. Melara taught us about them...from mammoth, to teddy bear, to all different colors, too!
And our pollinators sure love the sunflowers! Bees, birds and butterflies! Our sunflowers start off so tiny and look so delicate, but by fall, their stalks are as think as small trees. And what fun it is to harvest their seeds!
We are hopeful that this year's little shoots will do as well!
Last fall, the fourth graders also planted kale and spinach. It was barely touched and left undisturbed all winter long. Look at that amazing harvest! We decided to let them go to seed, also called bolting.
Did you know the kale flowers could be so beautiful?
But now our fourth graders have taken on a HUGE project....a three sisters garden. They helped clear out the beds and get the soil ready for planting corn, beans, and squash, a traditional crop of the Native Americans.
The corn stands tall like the oldest sister, the beans grow up the cornstalk for their support, and the squash provides ground cover to keep out the weeds and prickly leaves to keep out the wildlife. These crops are great to store and provide food throughout the winter.
It is our first time planting corn and we were very excited to see our first little sprouts appear. Your advice on planting corn is welcome and appreciated in the comments!
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