Hello Spring

 

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Spring has arrived and it is time to begin preparing your school garden. Through out  the school year Griffins Garden Centre, Muintir na Tíre and Cork County Council will be posting various blogs with quick top tips, proven winning formulas and advice for  School Gardens in Cork . If you wish for advice on any part of your school garden, please feel free to email Margaret or Miriam in Griffins Garden Centre, Dripsey at info@griffinsgardencentre.ie. or call us on 021 7334286



Each year we all ask, Where to Start?

Take a walk around the School Garden, take photos, notes and be creative.
Many garden projects are created with a Mood Board for your Garden. This is just a board with pictures of your space and images you find of garden ideas that you would like to do in your school garden.

Then decide how to get this project done, who can we get materials from, can we get external help with the manual labour, what can we plant and when to start planting.

 Sow and Grow 2017 is open now and accepting applications from schools across Ireland! This is a primary school based campaign. Early registration gives teachers the best chance of receiving a free growing kit, with seeds,soil and instructions and, of course, loads of support from GIY.  Apply now at giy.ie



Ask the local commuinty groups if they would like to help, Mens shed, tidy towns and active retirement as well as the parents can be a great local resource.
Also you maybe able to get older compost for local fruit and vegetable growers.


What to do in your Garden over the next few weeks?

Get Organised

Collect Toilet Roll Inserts for biodegradable pots , plastic water bottles  for watering or for upcycling Containers. 


Get Cleaning, spring clean glass houses, polytunnels, raised beds etc.

If you already haven't, get well rotted  (at least 2 years old) farm Manure or Fresh Compost into the Garden Beds

Do you have a compost heap? Its a great time to get one started.

Have you a water butt? Is it near the School garden? What can we use as a Water Butt?

Start Chitting you first early Potatoes 

• Chitting simply means encouraging the seed potatoes to sprout before planting. 
• Start chitting from late January in warmer parts of the country or in February in cooler areas, about six weeks before you intend to plant out the potatoes. 
• Each seed potato has a more rounded, blunt end that has a number of 'eyes'. 
• Stand the tubers with the blunt end uppermost in trays or old egg boxes, with plenty of natural light.

Save the bees with seed bombs:
Make a seed bomb with soil, compost and bee friendly seeds. allow them to dry. when it gets alot warmer, get the kids to throw these seed bombs into a Wasteland  area and watch these bloom 


Be creative and start making your labels for flowers, trees shrubs and plants

I hope this will help you to get started in your school garden and remember please reach out to Griffins Garden centre if you would like any advice at all.
Happy Gardening from all the team at Griffins