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Crop Planning

April and May Crop Planning for the School Garden


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Spring Crop Planning Tips for your School Garden
Spring is in full boom and many of us are as busy as honey bees getting our gardens ready for the season ahead. When it comes to planting out our school gardens it is wise to be strategic as to what you want to plant and when rather than letting our spring planting fever take the lead leaving us with an abundant harvest right as the kids take off for their summer vacation. Here are a few suggestions we have for crop planning in your school garden.
Delay Brassica and Cucurbit Plantings
It’s so easy to plant out our school gardens in a similar fashion to our home gardens without considering some important factors. The first and most important is crop timing. Filling your beds with brassicas like kale, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and cucurbits such as squash, cucumbers and pumpkins now will lead to a prolific harvest in June and July with no kids present to enjoy them. Try planting these longer season crops in late July or early August for a harvest in the fall months of October and November.
This idea is relevant to more than just brassicas and cucurbits but should also be applied to any crop with a 70+ day growth cycle.
Hold Off on Planting Tomatoes until May
Tomatoes can take quite some time to start producing, depending on your climate, so we recommend waiting to plant them until mid to late May for a harvest that’ll be waiting for you and the kids upon your return in August. The warmer your climate (i.e the further east your are located in the county) the later you can plant them so as to ensure a longer harvest period well into the fall months.
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Turning in your Cover Crops
Before turning in those bountiful fava beans consider leaving a patch to harvest from. One way to choose would be to leave the beans that have already flowered and/or pushed out small pods - chances are these beans will have already used some of that atmospheric nitrogen they fixed in the soil over the winter.
There are many ways to turn in your cover crop but in order to get the most bang for your buck, and keep lots of little hands very busy, simply chop the favas, or cover crop mix, at the base of their stems leaving the root ball in the ground to decompose, and using scissors or pruners cut up the stems into short 2-4” sections to leave on the bed. This method works great if your favas have been growing in individual beds rather than covering a whole field that you’re prepping for planting. If you do have a large field, using a rototiller to turn in the majority of the beans while leaving a small patch for the kids to chop and drop is a great way to go.

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  • About Us
    • Mission & Impacts
    • Staff & Board of Directors
    • Advisory Council
    • Contact Info
    • Testimonials
    • Supporters
    • Board Recruitment Announcement
  • Programs
    • Cool Beans Project
    • Consultation Packages
    • Free Seeds for Schools
    • Heirloom Expo
    • Partner Program
    • SchoolYard Habitat
    • Summer Camp
    • Teen Apprentice Program
    • Water Wise Irrigation Grants
  • Resources
    • Garden-Based Distance Learning Resources
    • How to Build and Sustain your School Garden Program >
      • Getting Started
      • Funding Your School Garden
      • Consultation Packages and Program
    • The Garden Classroom >
      • Classroom Management Strategies >
        • Spring Sowing and Planting Tips
      • Curriculums >
        • Curriculum - K-5
        • Curriculum - Middle School
        • Curriculum - High School
      • Garden Based Literature
    • Gardening ABC's >
      • Crop Planning >
        • February
        • March
        • April and May
        • October
        • November
      • Design >
        • Trellis & Tunnel Info
      • Creating Habitat >
        • Gardening 4 Bees
    • Farm to School >
      • Farm to School Act of 2019
      • Farm to School Month
      • Field Trips
    • Urban Wildfire Resources
    • Google Group
  • Partner
    • Benefits for Registered Schools
    • Register Your School
    • Register Your Business
    • National Heirloom Expo
    • Volunteer!
  • Events
    • Virtual Garden Coordinator Gatherings
    • Workshops
    • Holiday Auction
  • DONATE